Blackout
by MandyLeigh87
Summary: All human, Edward and Bella POV. Edward and Bella live in two different worlds, even though they live next to each other. Things get complicated when Edward, the leather jacket wearing cigarette smoking rebel falls for the girl next door.
1. Teenage Wasteland

**A/N: **Okay so as of press time I'm not quite done with Brand New, BUT I should be finishing that up relatively soon and I was too excited to start this one, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm trying out the all human and changing POV for the first time, so go easy on me. Also, playlists for Bella and Edward are on my profile.

I do not own the characters; they belong to the amazing Stephenie Meyer. Major kudos to her. Also an FYI: drew a little inspiration from One Tree Hill, so kudos to Mark Schwann for that.

**Edward**

The bass was so loud, I was surprised it didn't knock anything off my wall. _Thump thump, thump, thump. _Emmett must be having another party next door. It wasn't even his fucking house. Ever since Swan moved in 3 years ago they've been attached at the hip, literally and figuratively. He felt he had full privilege to her house especially when her mom was gone for the weekend. _As if he didn't own enough shit in this town._ It wasn't a case of sour grapes. I came thisclose to having everything that he had, and now I'm glad I don't. I shook my head as his drunken slurs danced through my open window.

"New rule! New Rule!....NO BRAS ALLOWED IN THE HOUSE! Or outside the house, actually hand them over at the door as a cover." His stupid laugh followed a crowd of cheers, probably from his minions.

"Arrogant prick," I muttered under my breath.

I lifted myself up to sit on my elbows. _1 a.m., nice. They'd be at this for a while. _I pulled the curtain back from my window and a sliver of light invaded my dark room. I squinted into the brightness. As my eyes adjusted, I saw a crowd of people in the backyard and another bunch inside the house.

"It's SUMMA TIME bitches!" Emmett yelled, smacking that skank Lauren on the ass.

"Emmett, what the hell?!" I could see her now. _Bella Swan._ Her long dark hair swept into a low loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. She wore a modest summer dress, her bathing suit straps peaking out at the top.

"Babe…" Emmett pawed at her.

"Save it," she shouted back. Their voices lowered and I couldn't hear what they were saying now. Whatever he said, she must not have liked it because I saw her hand go back and connect pretty violently to his face.

"Shit Bella!" He grabbed at his nose, where blood started pouring out.

She smirked towards him before stalking off into her house. That made me laugh. _Pretty entertaining girl._ Lauren rushed to Emmett's side, all to ready to comfort him. Everyone knew he was screwing her, I think even Bella knew. Both of them were just too stubborn to end it.

I stumbled out of bed towards the balcony for a smoke. Liz, my mom, hated it when I smoked in the house. Well she hated it when I smoked period but that was beside the point. I brought the cigarette up to my lips and lit it before taking a long drag. I looked out across the Swan yard. Empty cups littered the grass, along with beer bottles and the occasional brassiere. I chuckled to myself. _Teenage wasteland._

The air was starting to cool, so I turned to head back inside to grab my jacket. There she was. Bella was sitting on her roof, muttering to herself and rubbing on her right hand. I looked down to see Emmett and Lauren making out in the dark corner of the house. _Pathetic._ I felt a little sorry for her.

With one more look at the girl on the roof, I swept inside and crept down to the kitchen. I knew there was an ice pack in here somewhere. I wrapped it in a dishtowel and started towards back towards the stairs. I grabbed my jacket and fumbled for the flask hidden in my desk before reemerging on the balcony. _Good she was still there._ Emmett and Lauren had taken their escapades elsewhere.

A tall tree stood directly in between our two houses, long thick branches extending towards each roof. _Here goes nothing. _I stepped hesitantly on the closest branch, reaching up to balance myself with another. After a minute or two I had safely navigated my way across the treacherous maple to come within inches of her rooftop. Just to be safe, and to make sure I hadn't underestimated the gap, I lunged forward landing with a thud.

"What the fuck?!" Bella stood up cautiously and looked around. _Graceful, Cullen, very graceful. _"Damn raccoons," she muttered before sitting back down.

I finally got up and started walking towards her, cautious in every step. I really didn't feel like falling off a roof tonight. I was two steps behind her when the creaky roofed warned her of my arrival.

She spun around with a gasp.

"Shit Edward, you scared me!" Her hand flew up to her mouth. Bella and I had never really been friends, I think mainly because of Emmett. Him and I didn't have the best track record, but she was always pleasant. We had lived next to each other for years, we were bound to notice one another.

I tossed the ice pack towards her and sat down next to her, pulling my flask out.

"What's this for?" She asked, holding it up.

"Nice right hook," I said, taking a swig of liquor.

"Oh! You saw that." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I did."

"God he is such an ass sometimes." She shook her head as she attempted to place the ice pack across her knuckles.

"Here, let me help." I placed my hand over hers, holding the ice pack in place.

She looked down at our intertwined hands.

"Uh…thanks."

"No problem," I said taking another gulp from my flask. "So what'd he say to you anyway?"

She laughed without humor.

"He asked if it was okay if he slept with Lauren."

"Ha." She glared at me. "Sorry….but that is pretty funny. Who does that?!"

"Oh he's done it plenty of times, I've just been too drunk before to care."

I offered her a drink from my flask.

"Single malt whiskey," she said in an approving tone. "Nice."

"Very impressive," I said smiling at her. _Girl knew her liquor._

"I did grow up with my Dad in Hicksville, USA. If you didn't know who Jack, Jose, and Sam were by the time you were ten there was something wrong with you."

We both laughed.

"You really don't strike me as a country girl," I said with a wink.

A cool, brisk wind brushed by us and she shivered.

"Oh here." I shrugged out of my jacket and put it over her shoulders. She grabbed for my flask, flashing me a brilliant smile.

"Thanks."

"But yeah..I guess I've…changed a lot since I've been here. It's so different, it's hard not to change a little bit."

We sat for a few minutes not talking, just passing the flask back and forth until it was gone.

"Well," I started, "Any girl that can drink straight whiskey is okay in my book." I slapped her knee and she started laughing.

"You're not too bad yourself."

I looked back at her, staring into those big brown eyes. I had lived next door to this girl for how long, seen her plenty of times, but never actually paid attention. She was beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed a little from the alcohol and it perfectly complemented her creamy skin. She peered at me from under her long lashes, and I felt myself holding my breath. Her lips parted, almost expectantly. _No, Edward. This is bad news. Get the fuck out of here Emmett hates you enough already, you don't need to get caught fooling around with his girlfriend.. _She leaned forward, closing her eyes.

"What the hell is going on?!" Emmett stuck his head out the nearest window.

_Shit. The shit has just hit the fan._

Bella opened her eyes and pulled back quickly, embarrassed and frantic.

With two large bounds, Emmett was in front of Bella placing his body between me and her.

"What are you doing here?" He snarled at me.

"Looking after your girlfriend while you were screwing Lauren in the downstairs bedroom."

I looked past Emmett's large shoulders to Bella's face. She looked surprised, but not like it was any news to her. Emmett looked back at her.

"That's bullshit."

She crossed her arms, tapping her foot.

"Fuck you Emmett." She started to turn and stomp back to the window. She whipped around quickly and tossed the ice pack back to me.

"Thanks," she said before climbing back through the window.

"I best not find you over here again," Emmett shouted, stepping forward to get in my face.

I raised my hands up, in surrender.

"Hey Cullen!"

"What?!" Emmett and I said simultaneously, turning towards the voice.

"Not you Tony Little, the other one," Jasper said with a smile. He ran his hands through his shaggy blonde hair, before flicking his cigarette to the ground. "Get back to your house and let me in." He motioned to my back door. He always crashed there when Emmett had a party. Jasper was a "crowd pleaser" as he called it. He hung around with everyone: the jocks, the hippies, the nerds, the Goths…and me, the outcast rebel.

I made my way back to the tree and climb across.

Once I made it safely back to my side, I shouted back to Emmett.

"Yeah you know Jazz is right, you should really lay off the 'roids man. Serious shrinkage, and you don't have much to work with anyway."

He started to say something, and then realized he didn't have a comeback for that.

"See ya little brother," I said ducking back into my room. I laughed to myself at the unintentional joke I'd just made.

Jasper was waiting impatiently at the back door.

"So what the hell were you doing with Bella?" Jasper asked once we were safely back in my room.

"What? Did you see us?"

"No Alice told me. You better watch out man, Emmett will kick your ass if you start messing with her."

He stretched and took his normal spot in the Lazy boy chair in the corner.

I shook my head.

"Yeah man…I don't know what I was thinking." _What was I thinking? Bella and I live in two completely different and separate worlds, even though we sleep 25 feet away from each other. She was the jock's girlfriend, I wouldn't be caught dead at an athletic event. She wore designer threads, I rocked vintage. Lastly and most importantly, she was dating my ass of a brother._

"I don't blame you though man, she's an ace," Jasper said, settling into the chair. He was snoring within minutes, but I couldn't get my mind to shut up. It was the first time I'd really talked to her, but I couldn't get her out of my mind. Her voice, her eyes, her lips. The way her cheeks flushed or the way she championed that flask. _No way. Edward Cullen does not do crushes. He does occasional make out sessions with girls behind the gym or in the back seat of my junker Volvo. He lights up his cigarettes in front of the principal and squeals his tires out of the parking lot. He's the rebel without a cause. _I shook my head. _Now he was the rebel with a crush._


	2. Step Right Up

**Bella**

"Bella."

I felt a kick to my bed.

"Go away Alice!"

"Bella, get up." Cool air rushed over me as my blankets were pulled away.

"What the hell Alice?!" I shot up out of bed, feeling miserable as ever. My head felt like a two-ton elephant was sitting on it.

"What the hell happened to you?" Alice plopped down on the bed beside me.

"Whiskey…and Edward Cullen."

"Yeah that's what I wanted to talk to you about. What were you doing on the roof with him? He's Emmett's brother Bella!" Alice was having one of her rants when I did something she didn't approve of.

Everyone in town knew the Cullen's story, but nobody ever spoke about it. Emmett and Edward's dad Carlisle left Edward's mother for Emmett's. Edward's mother, Elizabeth, was from the wrong side of the tracks and Emmett's mother belonged to one of the richest families in town. It was no contest in Carlisle's eyes, Esme was the only choice. In his defense they were all pretty young. Edward is just a few months older than Emmett and couldn't be any more different.

Emmett was popular, the typical jock. He lettered in track, football, basketball, and soccer. He was tall, blonde and muscular. Edward was more of the silent rebel type. He was barely ever seen without his leather jacket or a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was really smart, but didn't bother to go to school much. In all honesty, Edward was more of my type, but Emmett got to me first. He was fun and crazy and exactly what I needed when I first moved here. Now that I'm a little older, his immaturity is starting to get to me. Everything's a game for him.

"You know Emmett's ready to kick his ass for whatever he was pulling last night." Alice stretched out on the end of the bed.

"Alice, he didn't really pull anything. If anyone was pulling anything it was me…" I fidgeted nervously with my hands. _What was I thinking last night? That was so stupid._

Alice shot me a look of disgust.

"I was pissed at Emmett….again. And Edward was nice to me. You know I think he's a really sweet guy, underneath the hard exterior."

There was something…different about Edward. Something mysterious and intriguing. He wasn't bad to look at either. He had perfectly bronzed skin that complemented his sandy brown hair. He wasn't as muscular as Emmett by any means, but he was built. I could see the definition of his muscles underneath his shirt last night. But the best thing about Edward was his amazing emerald eyes. It was his eyes that captivated me so much last night…or maybe it was the whiskey…or a combination of both. Whatever it was, there was some kind of spark there last night and if I wasn't careful I could be getting myself into big trouble.

"So," I started. "Are you going to be the amazing best friend I know you are and help me clean up?" I flashed her a brilliant, pleading smile.

"Oh Bella, I wish I could but I don't want to." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Thanks a lot, jerk." I gently kicked her off my bed. She landed on the floor with a large thump. We both started laughing as she picked herself off the floor.

We both froze and turned towards the strange moaning sound coming from behind my bedroom door.

I shuffled towards it and slowly opened my door, only to have Emmett fall to my feet completely passed out. He had dicks drawn all over his face in marker and a missing eyebrow. _What wonderful friends he has. _

"Emmett! Get up!" I bent down and nudged him a couple times.

"No Mom! Just five more minutes!"

I punched him. Hard. I didn't feel bad about it, it was necessary.

"Shit Bella, why are you always hitting me?"

"I don't know Emmett why are you such an ass?"

I walked past him, down to the kitchen and grabbed a very large trash bag.

"Later Bella." Alice slipped out the front door. Emmett followed a few minutes after, shaking his head and running his finger over the spot where his eyebrow should be.

I headed out to the backyard, trash bag in hand, ready to pick up the disaster left from last night.

My lawn looked like it had literally rained beer cans. I bent down, picking up the first in what was to be many empty ones. I made my way around the yard in a slow, sauntering manner. Why did I let him do this? I was always the one left cleaning up his mess. I suddenly felt like I was being watched, like a pair of eyes were searing into the back of my head.

I turned hesitantly and there he was on his balcony, pulling the cigarette slowly from his mouth. He managed a half-ass wave and I wondered if I should acknowledge him or not. I was pretty embarrassed about my display last night, but I flashed him a small smile. He returned the favor before ducking back inside. _Crisis avoided. _I really should stay away from him. The butterflies in my stomach were a definite reminder of that.

I went back to my work. I idly tossed some cans into my bag, which was getting pretty heavy. I started dragging it behind me. I came up to a can with what looked like green chunks on it. Cocking my head to one side and looking at it as if it was contaminated, I wondered to myself if I should chance touching it. I bent down slowly and pinched the can by the smallest amount possible. I whipped back to throw it in my bag, which was now held open by Edward Cullen.

"Thanks," I said as I tossed the revolting can into the pile.

"I can't believe you touched that." His face held a mock look of horror.

"Oh I'm a country girl, I've touched things that your little Suburban ears shouldn't even hear about."

He laughed at that and began following me around the yard carrying the overflowing bag.

"So…why isn't Emmett helping you with this?," he said as I tossed another can in.

"Because Emmett only cares about himself. He always has the fun and I'm left cleaning up his mess."

"Then why do you do it?"

I turned to face him. His eyes were burning into mine, like he really was interested in my life. I couldn't break his gaze, no matter how much I tried.

"I...uh. I don't know."

When I finally broke away from him I looked to find that we'd finished the entire yard and I didn't even notice. It was so easy being with him, talking to him. Time just flew by.

"Well thanks for helping me, that was really nice of you." I grabbed the bag from him, our hands meeting briefly in the exchange.

"Hey umm. Would you want to..hang out tonight? I mean if you're free from Hulk."

I closed my eyes, taking in his request. _No. Say no Bella. This is just asking for trouble. _I wanted to say no, I needed to say no.

"Yes." I can't believe I just did that. How did he have that type of power over me, I've talked to the guy a couple times in my entire life. I turned to face him and smiled.

"So what do you want to do?," I asked.

He shuffled his feet a little and looked down at the ground. I'd never seen him act so nervous before. Did he have the butterflies too? _No, that's impossible Bella don't be ridiculous. _

"Just bring your Ipod, I'll bring the rest." He flashed a crooked smile my way. I felt my heart flutter a little. I lost my train of thought. I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until I started feeling dizzy. He caught me as I swayed, my knees buckling while I fell towards him.

"Wow are you okay?" I looked down at his hands wrapped around my arms. I could feel it. The electricity between us, like a livewire.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine. I just haven't eaten anything today." Good thing I was a good liar. If he knew I stumbled just because he smiled at me that way I'd be absolutely mortified.

"Well you should get on that, don't want you fainting without someone there to catch you."

As long as he was going to be around to catch me, maybe I should faint more often.

"Yeah I'll go take care of that," I said with a nervous laugh. "So where are we meeting?"

"Our spot, ten o'clock." He must have seen the confused look on my face. His head nodded towards my roof where we had met last night. My heart fluttered when he called it "our spot."

"Alright," I said turning towards the house. "I'll see you later then."

He started back to his house, throwing one more smile my way before disappearing inside.

_Oh boy. _

I tied the bag of cans and set them in the garage before going inside and making myself a sandwich. I didn't taste a bite of it because I was still in shock over what happened. _Do I have a date with Edward Cullen? _I took another bite. _No. No it wasn't a date. We're just.."hanging out." We're friends. Friends can just hang out. On a roof. Alone. Perfectly normal friend thing to do. _

"Earth to Bella!"

I snapped out of my daze. Alice was standing in front of me, snacking on a piece of cheese and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Geez Alice, perfect timing, I just got done cleaning up."

"I do have impeccable timing, I'll admit that. So what are we doing tonight? That new movie has a showing at like 9:30, are you game?" She sat down on the barstool next to mine.

"I uh…I have a doctor's appointment." I needed a rock solid alibi.

"At 9:30 at night?"

"Um no. No I mean I have one tomorrow morning, early. Very early. I need to go to bed early tonight. Sorry."

"Boo." She didn't look that disappointed. I knew she wanted to spend time with Jasper anyway. I was doing her a favor by lying to her. She'd thank me later, I'm sure.

Alice hung around for the next couple of hours, gossiping about different things she'd heard at the party last night and looking through the latest issue of Cosmo. My mind was elsewhere. To be exact it was about 25 feet to the left.

By 9:45, Alice had left and I was pacing nervously in my room. _Maybe I should cancel? No, that'd be rude. He's just trying to be nice._ I pulled my curtain aside and glanced towards his window. The light was on, but I couldn't see him. Suddenly a shadow moved across the window and pulled back the curtain. I instantly fell to the floor. _Oh God, I hope he didn't see me. Please, please don't let him see me. _I inched closer to the bottom of the window and decided to chance it and peak up. He was smiling his crooked smile right at me. _What was he trying to pull?_ I suddenly got a little agitated. _Was he trying to seduce me or something? Maybe he knew just what he was doing. _I tried to reason through every possible scenario. _Well, _I thought to myself with a smile. _Step right up if you're ready for the challenge Mr. Cullen. You're little cute, sexy mask isn't going to work on me. _My face fell because I realized that I honestly wanted it to work. I had just entered the "danger zone." _Crap. I have a crush on Edward Cullen._

I ran back to my mirror, re-evaluating my appearance. I pulled my hair out of the causal ponytail I had put it in and ran a fresh coat of blush across my cheeks. _Maybe he'll think I'm asking for it. _I eyed my Strawberry body spray. _Eh, what the hell? _I gave it a few quick sprays before grabbing my IPod and heading out my window.


	3. Too Pretty

**Edward**

I had no clue what I was doing. Why was I climbing across this tree to get to the roof to have a kind-of non-date with my asshole brother's sometimes girlfriend? I didn't really know how to answer my own question, but when I saw her alone in her backyard today, I just wanted to be next to her, to feel close to her. When it was time for me to leave again, I felt the withdrawal before I even left so I blurted out the invitation without thinking. This girl had something that was making me act completely batty. I was so drawn to her and I didn't really want to be. It just makes everything so…complicated. I was an uncomplicated guy, very laid back and drama free. This was just asking for drama, like the soap opera kind.

She was sitting, waiting patiently for me. She eyed the backpack slung on my shoulder as I sat down next to her.

"So what's in your goodie bag?"

"Lots of surprises."

"Ooo I do love a good surprise." Her laugh was so…adorable. And I don't use words like cute, adorable, or even beautiful in my everyday vocabulary but she was all those things and more. Her hair was hanging around her face. Her cheeks were flushed and perfectly pink. She held out her hands.

"Well where are my surprises?" She looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

I opened the bag and rummaged around before pulling out a bottle of wine.

"Nice." She said taking the bottle from my hands and giving it the once over. I pulled another bottle from my bag.

"Very, very nice," she said. Her eyes were wide with excitement.

I emptied the rest of the bag's contents onto the roof. I spread the blanket over her, deciding it would be a little too awkward to share. I could deal with the cold and plus the alcohol should help warm me up.

"Here," she said as she offered up part of the blanket to me without a thought. I paused for a minute and she smiled at me. _Hmmm..well if she insists. _The blanket was much better than nothing. I picked up my IPod and turned back to face her. I uncorked her wine bottle for her before handing it back.

"Okay. So here's how the game works." I grabbed my headphones and placed them gently on her ears. I thought I saw her eyes flutter lightly at my touch. I must be imagining things. "We alternate taking turns choosing categories, and then we both pick our songs for that category." I slowly reached for her headphones and placed them over my ears.

"Oooh, sounds like fun I'll go first." She brought her finger up to her mouth, acting deep in thought. I was glad she went for this game. I strongly believed you could learn a lot about a person by their choice in music. And I wanted to know more about this girl.

"Okay I have one. Guilty pleasure."

I laughed and began searching through my playlist, knowing exactly which song I was going for. I stopped when I reached the only Spice Girls song on my entire IPod.

"Ready?" My finger hovered over the play button.

"Ready." She smiled back and me.

I pushed play and anticipated her song choice. I was bombarded by the countriest sounding song I'd ever heard in my life.

"What. Is. This?" I asked in absolute shock.

"Boot Scootin Boogie?..Brooks and Dunn?" She seemed appalled by my lack of country music knowledge. "I told you I'm a country bumpkin at heart." She started laughing hysterically, probably at the incredible face I was making. I'd never heard anything so terrible in my life. I had one brief encounter with this type of music, back when my mom was in love with Keith Urban. I was even ashamed to admit that I knew a couple of his songs, but nothing ever this bad. "Okay," she finally said when she could breathe. "Like it's any better than Britney Spears?" I had to agree on that one. That was pretty embarrassing.

"So do you wish you still lived there? With your dad I mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I really resented my mother at first for bringing me here. Life is just…completely different here than it is there. And I miss my dad a lot. We were never really close, but…I still miss having him around. He's the Sheriff up there."

_Great. I was out with the Sheriff's daughter._

"Do you ever go visit?"

She shook her head. "It's only a few hours away but, it's just been tough. I haven't been back there in awhile. I really should, I mean he is my father. And I did have some…friends back there."

She looked up at me with a sad expression on her face. I didn't mean to make her sad, I was just interested. I gave her an encouraging smile.

"Okay," I started. "My turn…. Best Song to Rock Out To."

She took a swig of wine before searching through her playlist. I jammed to "You Shook Me All Night Long", while she played air guitar to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" _Not too bad._

We talked more about growing up and what our families were like. Her mom was gone a lot, mine was constantly around. Her Dad wanted her around, mine could barely stand to look at me. We were polar opposites, yet we were attracted to each other just like magnets. We had even altered our position, laying on our elbows and leaning in towards each other. An hour later the wine was almost gone.

"Tell me a secret," she whispered, laying her head back on the roof.

"I pissed in my closet last year." I didn't even care about how mortifying it was to admit that, I just wanted to hear her laugh. And boy did she laugh. "In my defense, Jasper got me totally plastered and I thought my closet was the bathroom. And if you tell anyone I will hunt you down." She struggled to close her lips together, where she made a zipping motion.

"Okay I told one, now you tell." I lit a cigarette, eagerly awaiting her response.

She scared me when she grabbed hold of the hem on her pants and started tugging them down. I started to protest when I noticed what she was trying to show me. A tattoo.

"So when'd you get that?" I said taking a drag of my cigarette.

"Six months ago…Nobody knows..not even Alice or Emmett." She fingered over the rose on her hip. It was incredibly sexy and I found myself staring.

"How does Emmett not know?"

She looked up at me.

"I'm sorry, that was really inappropriate." I looked down.

"No it's okay. Um. Emmett's been getting his…goods in other places for a while. I must not be good enough for him or something." She closed her eyes and looked down at her hands.

Without even thinking, I brought my finger underneath her chin and lifted it up. "If Emmett doesn't want you, or doesn't think you're sexy as hell, he's fucking nuts." She looked back at me with her big brown eyes and held my gaze for what felt like forever.

"Thanks…"

Maybe that was crossing the line. Maybe I'd said too much. _Damn it Edward, why do you always have to say the wrong thing._

"Okay new category. Song that reminds you of me." She smiled, so I was hoping I hadn't embarrassed her or anything. There were a million songs I could pick, "Blower's Daughter" or "Angel Eyes." I was so tempted to go with "I Want You" by Kings of Leon, because to be honest, it was the complete truth. I decided on "Too Pretty." It was sweet…and fairly safe. She chose "Criminal" by Fiona Apple, which didn't really make sense to me. I'm sure there was some reason behind it, but I didn't ask. She smiled as the song came to an end.

"Favorite corny love song."

"Huh?"

"Favorite corny love song." She held up her IPod.

This one took awhile, but I knew it was the right song as soon as I saw it. Classic love song, in all its corniness.

"Okay 1…2…3." We both hit play. I laughed when I heard her choice. "Always" by Bon Jovi. I laughed because I had picked the same exact song. Coincidence, I think not.

I looked up, wondering why she wasn't having the same revelation that I was. She was staring at me with a completely serious look on her face. My face went blank in the confusion. She inched forward, moving ever so slowly closer to me. I instinctively reached my hand out and caressed her face and down her neck. My hand finally rested on top of her collarbone. She was still moving closer to me, starting to lean her face to one side. Her eyes were still locked on mine. I couldn't have broken away from her even if I wanted to. I didn't want to. I wanted more of her. I started moving forward as her eyes glanced down at my lips. She licked hers in response and closed her eyes as our foreheads met. Our lips were a moment away from meeting; I could feel her breath on my face. She brought her hand up and curled it around my neck, pulling my face to hers.

The motion sensor light went on in the yard below us. We froze, our lips as close as they could be without touching. A cat ran through the backyard, the apparent culprit of our interruption.

"I should go," she breathed into my open expectant mouth. I opened my eyes to find hers open too. She untangled herself from me slowly and started gathering her stuff before abruptly heading inside.

I sat on the roof for the next few minutes. _What the hell just happened? _This was getting serious. If I wasn't careful I was going to fall in love with this girl…or was I already there?


	4. Criminal

**A/N: Major shoutout to RPattz…not only because I adore him and he inspired this version of Edward, but I used one of his original quotes in this chapter..see if you can spot it : )**

**Bella**

I almost just kissed Edward Cullen. This was…criminal, in every sense of the word. I had no idea how much meaning I was going to give to my song choice in the moment I picked it. I wanted him. I wanted his eyes on me, his hands on my face, his lips on my lips. I wanted it all. And it was all so, so wrong on so, so many levels.

I crawled back through my window, feeling like I'd just committed murder. I felt so guilty for thinking about him that way, for wanting him that bad. My cheeks were flushed, more than usual. _Why is this guy affecting me like this? I've lived next to him for how long, and I'm just having these feelings now? I need to talk to Alice._ My finger was already on the send button, ready connect me to my own personal Dr. Phil. Actually, compared to Alice, Dr. Phil looked like a cuddly Carebear. I set my phone back down. _No I don't want to talk to Alice. She would yell at me, or tell Jasper, or worse tell Emmett. Emmett. What was I supposed to do about him?_

I ran my fingers through my hair.

Emmett and I were at a weird place right now. I didn't know why we were together anymore. I didn't love him like I used to. Hell I don't even know if I loved him back then, we just fit, so I went with it. We don't seem to fit anymore, but I don't know if I'm ready or strong enough to be without him. Yeah he was an asshole, sometimes…okay most of the time, but we'd still been through a lot together. I didn't know what this place was like without him and that scared the hell out of me.

But Edward. He seemed like my missing piece. He was stubborn and rebellious and the complete opposite of Emmett. We were such opposites but we somehow fit so perfectly together. _Opposites attract? Maybe. _

I chanced a look outside. His light was still on and his curtain was surprisingly open. I paused at the window, staring into his room. I could see him sitting on his bed looking incredibly torn or frustrated. He was muttering to himself and balancing pros and cons of something with his hands. I looked down at his hands. His long fingers ran through his hair and his face scrunched like he was having a heated debate with himself. I had to laugh. _Relax Edward. _

Was he thinking about me like I was thinking about him? The thought made the butterflies in my stomach reappear. I sighed. This had just gone from crushing to complicated in no time. I bit my lip as he brought his hand up to his chin, looking deep in thought. His fingers ran across his lips and I felt my heart start to accelerate. _This never happens with Emmett. That must mean something…right?_

Before I could even think about what I was doing I was halfway across the tree, just a few feet away from his balcony. _Bella, don't do this. This will change everything. _I paused mid-branch and looked back at my room. _Keep going Bella, he's worth the risk. _I put one foot on the next branch. _No Bella. No. He's the bad boy; it never turns out like it does in the movies. He's not going to change for you. _I stopped again, listening to my own internal debate. I knew once I made the decision I was going to stick to it. No turning back either way.

I couldn't have been more excited, nervous, or scared as I leaped onto his balcony, but I was glad the rebellious Bella was back for the first time in years. I smiled to myself. _Here goes nothing. Or maybe everything._

I tapped lightly on his door. There was a long pause before I heard shuffling in his room. The door opened slowly. His eyes got wide, registering the sight in front him, like he was as surprised I was there on his balcony as I was.

"Hi," I whispered.

"Hi."

We stood in silence.

"Umm…you can come in if you want." He stepped aside and allowed me to walk in.

His room was huge, with a couch and desk opposite his bed. One wall was completely shelves, filled with books and records. He had some amazing stereo equipment. Soft music filled the room as well as the same familiar smell of tobacco and leather.

"Kings of Leon…nice." I turned to face him. He blushed, looking slightly embarrassed. I realized I've never seen him like that before. There was something vulnerable about it, like he was keeping a secret or hearing some inside joke.

After a moment, he took a confident step forward, all traces of confusion gone from his face.

"It seemed appropriate."

Suddenly I forgot to breathe. I stared as his face as he stalked forward. His hair had fallen a bit into his eyes, which were focused intently on my face.

"So…uh. Sorry about bursting in like that. I was scared you were going to think I was a burglar or something." I exhaled a nervous laugh.

"Well there aren't many burglars I know of that knock before they break in." His crooked smile emerged on his face. He came to stand directly in front of me. There was no escape from him now. He was everywhere, and I liked it. The same electricity from before was there, but even stronger. My hand instinctively reached out for his, and to my surprise he took it, intertwining our fingers. He brought both of our hands up to his face, rubbing the back of my hand against his face. I could feel the stubble of his unshaven face. It was rough, just like Edward. My knees started wobbling so I took a step forward to avoid falling over.

He instantly dropped my hand and wrapped his arms around my waist, tracing circles with his thumb on the small of my back.

"Edward, this is wrong. It feels dirty or something, sneaking around like this."

He slowly brought his face close to mine.

"Feel dirty about it. Feel dirty. Feel like its wrong."

_Shit. I was in trouble now. _

I closed my eyes and a moment later I felt his lips on mine. Soft and tender at first then with so much passion that I melted into him. I brought my hands up around the back of his neck and ran my fingers through his scruffy hair. His brought his lips to my ear, biting softly.

I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, taking in his smell and the feel of his skin.

He started walking us backward, his hands gripping tightly on my hips, pulling me close to him. The back of my legs hit the bed and I had nowhere left to go. I bent my knees, falling back onto the mattress. It was heavenly soft. It was like I was on my own personal Cloud 9.

Edward's lips moved back to mine. He tasted like peppermint smoke. My tongue began to trace lightly down his jaw and onto his neck. It continued down, my fingers ripping at his shirt. He pushed me away momentarily to remove it. Edward didn't play sports, and I've never seen him in the gym, but I would never have known that with him standing there like this. His shirt concealed the perfect six-pack abs that even Emmett would be jealous of. His arms and shoulders were perfectly toned, muscles noticeably tensed.

I pushed him off of me and rolled on top of him. We spent the next couple hours testing out our "wrong" and "dirty" feelings.

I eventually crawled up onto his chest. My fingers idly traced down his perfectly defined stomach while his twirled absentmindedly in my hair.

"Now what do we do," I whispered.

"No fucking clue." I felt him breathe into my hair.

I sat up on my elbows so I could look at him.

"I've never felt such a strong…pull to anyone before..in my entire life." I brought my hand up and caressed his face. He smiled.

"When I saw you, sitting alone on your roof, I just…I needed to be next to you. Just be near you. It's the most physically and mentally powerful thing I've ever experienced."

_Wow. I was not in trouble. We were in trouble. Big, big trouble. _

"Edward, I'm not really sure what this feeling means or if I'm even ready to deal with it right now, so can we just keep…things to ourselves for a little bit. You know,…take it slow, let me figure some things out before we tell people." I sighed. "And I need to figure out what to do about Emmett."

"Yikes."

We both laughed. I smiled at him, realizing how many times he had saved me in the last couple days, whether it was something as stupid as helping me pick up empty cans or just being there for me or making me laugh in the most impossible situations.

I heard him clear his throat.

"You know Bella this is all new for me too. So I'm totally okay with taking it slow. Take all the time you need. We'll sort this out together." He kissed the top of my hair. Who would have ever thought the bad boy and the girl next door would fall for each other? Definitely not me and Edward. On the surface, he seems like the worst possible guy for me. But underneath all that, he is my perfect match..like he was molded just for me. It was an amazing feeling, especially because I thought I was never going to find it.

I fell asleep in his arms, high off of him.

His snoring woke me early the next morning. I lay, watching him breathe in and out and lightly running my fingers over his face. _How am I with someone so utterly beautiful? _He stirred a little at my movements, but went right back to snoring a moment later. I stifled a laugh. That did it. I felt him stir beneath me.

"You snore," I whispered as I pulled myself up to his ear.

"Bullshit," he said, his eyes still closed.

"Is not!" I lightly slapped his chest playfully.

"Oh really?!" His eyes shot open and he was suddenly on top of me, tickling everywhere from my ribs down to the soles of my feet. I couldn't hold in my laughter. It echoed in the room. I was so afraid his mom would hear and we'd be caught.

I brought my finger up to my lips to shush him, gazing at the door.

"She's gone for the weekend." He didn't let up his attack.

"Really?" I gave him a seductive smile and arched my eyebrow. "Well I guess I can use the front door tonight."

I froze when I heard the loud roar of a truck out on the street. I would know that sound anywhere. Edward registered the terror in my face and must have read my mind.

"Shit!," we said in unison. I scrambled out of the bed, getting tangled in the sheets.

Emmett never came over this early. What was he up to now?

I searched frantically for my hoodie that had disappeared at some point in the night and was relieved to find it hanging from the balcony banister. _How did it get way out here?_ Any other time it would have been comical, but if I didn't get back to my place ASAP the shit was about to hit the fan. Some big shit. I kissed Edward gently before starting back to my place. I fumbled across the tree so fast, I was surprised I didn't fall. I knew I only had seconds, Emmett knew where the key was. I climbed through my window and hopped into bed fully clothed, pulling the covers over my head.

My door creaked open an instant later and I began exaggerating my breathing to make it look like I was sleeping. Emmett's big bear arms wrapped around me as he laid next to me in bed. And even though I should have been thankful that I made it back in time and freaking out that we'd been that close to being discovered, I only found myself wishing for a different pair of arms. _Criminal. I'm going to hell._


	5. Just to Be the Next To Be With You

**A/N: **So I decided I like using R-Pattz quotes for Edward, because let's face it R-Pattz is a pretty quotable person. So I slipped another one in here. Props to him for being so adorable and hilarious.

**Edward**

I was out smoking on my balcony. It was just a cover. I was barely paying attention to my cigarette as it moved from mouth and settled back down on the railing. I was really out there to spy on Bella and Emmett. She had left her window open so I could see and hear almost perfectly.

"Emmett, I've just been doing a lot of thinking….and I think maybe we should take a break."

_Wow, that was quick. A quick, simple, clean break. _I was expecting her to take a little more time to think about it than that.

"What the hell are you talking about Bella!?" Emmett was angry. I smiled to myself, knowing that I was a part of the reason, or at least I hoped I was.

"I think you should leave." I could only imagine the look on Emmett's face as those words came out of her mouth.

I heard her bedroom door slam, but apparently Emmett still didn't understand. He was pounding on her door, begging like a dog to come back in.

I made my way across the tree and hopped into her window.

"He's not taking it well is he?" I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Not at all," she whispered into my ear. "Get the hell out Emmett!" She pounded back on the door, mimicking his knocks.

"Bella you're acting crazy!" He stopped knocking but I could tell he was still outside her door. "I just…I don't understand what you're thinking!" We heard him settle himself on the floor, right in front of the door. His shadow blocked out almost all the light coming from the crack on the bottom of her door.

I started kissing her neck, pulling her closer to me.

"Emmett..I…" Her voice broke, she was starting to lose focus.

"I just….I think…I." She turned to face me so she could kiss me properly.

"See!," Emmett shouted. "You don't even sound sure of yourself."

We both laughed quietly, because we knew being unsure had nothing to do with her inability to get her words out.

She pressed her finger up to my lips.

"Let me take care of him," she whispered. "One second."

She cracked the door slightly, just enough to stick her head out. I stayed hidden behind the door, watching her every move.

"Emmett…all things in nature run their course. And I think we have run our course."

I touched her side lightly with my finger, and slowly started moving it downward, adding fingers as I went. My hand now rested on her upper thigh.

"Sorry Emmett, get over it. I have to go," she said quickly.

She slammed the door and pushed me against the wall.

"Shouldn't we wait until he's gone?," I whispered against her mouth.

"We can be quiet." She winked at me seductively as she pulled me to her bed.

"You know you could have taken some more time…to figure things out. I would have been okay with that." I nuzzled into her neck.

"I know. It's okay though. I don't want to be with him anymore…at all. I'm done."

"Good. Cause I really want you all to myself."

"That's pretty selfish." She smiled at me.

"What can I say? I'm a pretty selfish guy."

She intertwined her fingers with mine.

"Did you ever think that I was the selfish one?"

"Impossible."

"No, no think about it. I broke up with Emmett so I could spend more time being with you, which a pretty selfish act. I didn't think about anyone but myself."

"Okay then," I laughed. "We are both equally selfish, which cancels each other out."

We both turned our gaze to her bedroom door, which was still locked. There was a scratching noise coming from the other side.

"Are you kidding me?!" She got up and crossed the room.

"Emmett!" She pounded on the door. "Stop trying to pick my lock, you're going to hurt yourself…or worse, my door."

Emmett let out a frustrated sigh and I heard his heavy steps echoing down the hallway. Bella came back to lay on the bed.

"Seriously, he can't take rejection. I don't think it's in his blood." I laughed at her suggestion.

"What's so funny?" She threw a sarcastic look my way.

"Well we are brothers Bella…we do have blood in common."

"Oh…right." She started laughing along with me. "So how are you with rejection?"

A look of mock horror came across my face. "Who the hell would reject me?!"

She slapped me playfully on the chest and laid her head across it.

"It looks like it's going to be a nice day out," she said. I followed her eyes out the window. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

"What do you want to do?" I asked as I rubbed down her back. She didn't answer, she just lifted her head up keeping her eyes out the window.

"Get in the closet!" I looked at her with confusion. "Now!"

I still didn't understand why I was being shoved into her closet but I didn't resist.

I heard her window open.

"Damn it Emmett are you fucking crazy?"

"Maybe."

I positioned myself so I could see through the little slits in her door.

"What do you want?" She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Bella this is stupid." He moved closer to her.

_Take one step buddy and I'll throw you right back out the window._

He wrapped his arms around her.

My fists clenched and it took everything I had not to leap out of the closet. I almost did, just thinking about how his face would look when I came leaping out of his ex-girlfriend's closet. Classic.

"No Emmett." She was pushing him away. _Just let her deal with this._

"What the hell brought all this on?" Emmett turned and stared out the window, his gaze scanned the entire yard but stopped when he would have seen my balcony.

I could see him tense up, even through my limited sight.

"It's him isn't it?" he said through gritted teeth. "You're screwing him aren't you?!"

I wanted to defend her. She wasn't the whore that he was; she had a little more dignity than that.

Her eyes shot to me in the closet.

"God Emmett! No!" She sat down on her bed. "I just…don't want to be with you anymore."

"Okay fine."

Good thing he believed her. He would go on a fucking rampage if he knew I was in her closet right now listening. I mean she was halfway telling the truth. We weren't screwing, but we weren't completely innocent. Besides it was much more than that with her, much more than I'd had with anyone. She was different.

"Bella." He was whining now. I rolled my eyes. _Pathetic._

"Bella, just give me another chance. I'll take you out tonight, we'll go somewhere nice. My treat."

"No Emmett, besides…I can't…I'm,..umm..I'm going to visit my Dad."

"Okay well in a couple days then."

"No I'll be there…for a while…at least a week. I haven't seen him in a while."

_Great Bells, how were we going to fudge this excuse? It'll be a little hard when she is in fact actually here and not in Hicktown._

"Fine!" Emmett stomped his foot and I held in my laughter. _What mature adult does that? Oh right it's Emmett…makes perfect sense._

He started back towards the window.

"You can take the door Emmett."

"Oh…right."

He turned and headed for the door…which he tried to open… while it was still locked.

"Unlock first, then open Emmett."

It took him three tries to unlock the door because he was so frustrated.

"We'll talk about this when you get back." He stalked out and slammed the door behind him.

When the coast was clear I emerged from the closet.

"Well now what are we going to do about this?" I asked her.

"About what?"

"About you supposedly being at your dad's for a week?"

She smiled as she stepped towards me.

"We're going to go to my dad's for a week." She was very calm as she spoke.

"We are?"

"We are."

"To your dad's…in…the country?" I gulped. I've never been outside the city limits, let alone Cow Country.

"Yes in the country. Make sure to bring your chaps."

"Yee-haw." There was no enthusiasm in my voice. This will be interesting.

"That's the spirit. Now go pack some things, we should get going." She seemed excited. I know she probably missed her Dad and maybe she needed this time away. Maybe it'll be good for us to get out of this town for a few days. I wasn't looking forward to the grass…and barns…and whatever bugs might be out there, but if it made her happy I'd do it. I suddenly realized how much I would do for her. I would walk through fire, jump through hoops, go to the ends of the earth for her. I've never experienced that but it must be an amazing feeling to say: 'I absolutely need you.' Sometimes I feel like that about a cheeseburger, but never a girl.

I ran back to my house and packed a small duffel bag with the essentials. She picked me up ten minutes later in her beater truck. I had always liked this truck. It made her more real, more down to earth than all these fake bitches that drove Jags and BMW's. She drove quickly, smiling to herself.

We made it there in less than three hours and I felt a shudder as we drove past the city limits. Population 2, 410. There were more people in my high school than in this map-dot town. She drove us down the one…ONE main street in the entire place.

"Where's the grocery store?" I asked.

"Don't have one…we have the corner shop." She pointed to a tiny store, which still had Christmas lights up. It was June.

"Classy." I said pointing them out.

"Oh we're all class here, through and through." She laughed.

She seemed more at home here than I'd ever seen her back in the city. Her face was bright and bubbly. Her mood seemed to perk up the minute we passed the city limits. I rolled down the window and stuck my head out. It smelled absolutely foul out there. I rolled it back up and scrunched my nose.

"Isn't that fresh air amazing? No smog, no city smell." She breathed deeply.

"Smells like shit."

"Honey it is shit. Cow shit. And lots of it. Isn't it wonderful?"

How she thought that cow shit was wonderful was beyond me.

She pulled down a dirt road and drove for another ten minutes. We passed a whole bunch of nothing, just grass and lots of cows. I could see where the cow shit came from. I was surprised they couldn't start a cow shit museum with how many of those damn animals there were wandering around. We came up to a modest house, two story. There was a small barn out in the back and a tiny police cruiser in the driveway. We must be here.

I was suddenly nervous. Her dad was a sheriff…with a gun. And she was bringing me to his house, her…boyfriend? No I wouldn't call myself that quite yet. I didn't really do the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, but we were definitely something.

She parked the car and jumped out. I stayed where I was, utterly shocked by the growing expanse of…absolutely nothing that surrounded her house. There was a large dog on the porch, passed out with his tongue hanging from his mouth.

"Bruskey!," she called to the dog.

I finally got out of the truck and walked around to where Bella was standing.

The dog instantly jumped up at the sound of her voice and started bounding towards us. It was like it all happened in slow motion. The dog running. The dog running towards Bella. The dog running past Bella. The dog running towards me. The dog knocking me to the ground and jumping on top of me. I was suddenly bombarded with slobber.

"Bruskey! No!" She pulled him off of me. "Go! Get!" I could hear the country in her voice now.

She helped me off the ground and started brushing the back of my pants off.

"He must like you," she said laughing.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Sorry about that." She sprung up to her tiptoes and reached up to plant a kiss on my lips. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. If this is what I got for letting dogs attack me, then bring them on.

I heard someone clear their throat behind Bella. Her lips froze on mine.

"Bella?" The voice called.

We both turned to see a man coming out of the house. He had paused halfway out the door. His hair was dark, like Bella's and he definitely had her big brown eyes. His face was aged, with wrinkles apparent on his forehead. Pretty rough looking.

"Hey Dad!" She ran up and threw her arms around him.

"What the hell are you doing here kid?"

"Well I'm out of school…and..and I missed you Dad."

He stared at me with intense eyes, scary as shit eyes.

"And who's this?" He said motioning to me.

"This is…"

"Edward Cullen. A…friend of Bella's." I walked up to the porch and extended my hand.

"Hello Edward." He gripped my hand a little too tightly.

"I'm Sheriff Swan, but you can call me Charlie."

"Sure thing." I gave his hand a gentle shake.

"Well come on in." He opened the door for Bella and I followed her in, her father's eyes searing into my skull as I passed by him.


	6. Deep Inside of You

"Edward I've never seen you so nervous."

He was standing at the window of my old bedroom, biting his nails.

"Your dad is scary."

"Oh he is not!" I laughed at Edward's insecurity.

"So is all this land yours?" He nodded to the field and the woods behind my house.

"Yep…every last inch. There's a small little creek back in those woods. I used to play there as a kid."

I walked over and put my arms around his waist.

There was a knock on the door.

"Uh Bells?"

"Yeah Dad." I untangled myself from Edward.

"Dinner's ready." He opened the door and his face turned sour when he realized Edward was there with me.

I motioned for Edward to go ahead and I followed him out the door.

"Uh Bells can I talk to you for a second?" His eyes shifted to Edward. "In private."

"Yeah sure…we'll be right down, you go ahead."

Edward made his way cautiously down the stairs. He was so funny. I feel like he didn't know how to act here.

"Bella what is going on with you that…that boy?" He pointed down the stairs. "I thought you were dating someone named Emmett Cullen?"

"It's complicated Dad. I'm not with Emmett anymore, but I don't really know what Edward and I are yet."

He raised his eye suspiciously.

"Be. Nice." I pointed a finger at him.

"When am I not nice?" He threw his hands up.

I didn't say a word, I just gave him "the look" and started towards the stairs.

"He's sleeping in the guest room!" He called after me.

Ha. That was almost laughable. If my Dad only knew how sneaky I was. I knew that I had to lift up on my door while opening it to prevent if from making noise, and the fifth step from the top squeaks a little bit so I always skipped it, and when my Dad tried to be all Sheriffy and put baking soda on the doorknob, I used the open window. I snuck out of my room enough times that I could maneuver anything he gave me. He thought putting Edward in the downstairs bedroom would keep me from trying anything? Ha.

Dinner was intense. Awkward silence didn't even begin to describe.

"So Dad, I see your cooking skills have improved."

He smiled slightly.

"Yeah just a bit."

"Yeah Charlie, everything is really good," Edward said as he shoved another bite of steak in his mouth. I've never seen him so polite before. I mean he was never rude, but not this overly nice. He must be trying to impress my Dad.

"Well thank you Edward." My Dad's tone was annoyed and I watched as Edward flinched. This was pretty entertaining watching them squirm.

"So Bells, James is doing pretty well for himself. Working with his Dad on the farm. All set to take over when Jim retires. Nice young man."

I shot my Dad an evil glare. How dare he bring up my ex-boyfriend?! He always favored James, even when we got in fights.

He looked at me like he didn't even know what he'd done wrong.

"Asks about you a lot," he continued. I could see him looking at Edward from the corner of his eye.

I stood up from my seat.

"I think I've lost my appetite." I started towards the door. "Why couldn't you just leave it alone!"

I ran out into the front yard and put my hands over my eyes. The sun was right overhead. There was a cool breeze blowing across the field, which helped with the heat. The door slammed behind me and Edward came to stand beside me.

"Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah." I looked down at my feet. "He just…he doesn't know when to quit sometimes."

I looked out at the tree line.

"You wanna go for a walk with me?"

Yeah sure."

"Okay let me run up and change, I wouldn't want these clothes to get muddy."

"Muddy?" He looked terrified.

"You'll be fine," I laughed.

I ran back into the house, completely ignoring my dad and running upstairs. I slipped out of the designer jeans I was wearing and into some holey Levis. I pulled on my white cotton baby doll tank and put my hair into a loose braid.

"Okay I'm ready," I said as I bounded back out the front door. I held out my hand and Edward took it. I started leading him into the woods.

"Isn't there a trail or something?" He asked looking around.

"Nope."

"Do you know where we are?"

"Nope."

"Do you know where we're going?"

I turned to face him.

"Edward I pretty much spent my whole childhood in these woods, give me some credit. We'll come up on it eventually." I started walking again.

"Come up on what?"

I stopped when I saw what was before me and smiled.

"That." I said pointing ahead. It was the creek, running straight through the forest. The tire swing was still there, attached to the largest tree overshadowing the creek. Charlie had put it there when I was five, I can't believe its still there.

"Come on," I said skipping over to it. "Push me." I crawled through the tire swing, praying it was stable enough to hold me. It was. I stuck my finger out and beckoned him forward.

He smiled, sauntered over, and gave me a light push. It felt so good, floating through the air. So relaxing and carefree. I couldn't act like this in the city, especially with Emmett around.

"So," Edward started. "You came out here a lot when you were younger?" He pushed again.

"Oh yeah all the time. We'd go camping and fishing and all sorts of other things."

"I've never been camping or fishing."

"No way!"

"Yes way! It's kinda hard to do in the suburbs."

"Oh right…well we might have to change that while we're here." I smiled towards him. "It's so much fun James and I used to go all the time." I regretted those words as soon as they left my mouth. Why did I have to bring him into this? I winced a little when I realized my mistake.

"So were you and James…?" He pushed again, a little harder. That must be a soft spot. There was no use hiding it from him, Charlie would probably "accidentally" let it slip.

"Yeah I guess. We grew up together, it just seemed…natural for us to be together. We broke up right before I moved to the city."

"Do you still love him?" Edward stopped pushing and held the tire close to him.

"No. James and I were together more for lack of options than wanting to be together." And I meant it. There were only a couple thousand people in the entire town; I didn't have many guys to choose from.

"Are you jealous?" I stared into his eyes.

"Nah." I saw the hurt in his eyes.

"Liar."

He smiled a bit.

"Hey," I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Trust me, James has nothing on you." I pulled myself in to kiss him. "Okay?"

"Okay." He kissed me again.

This was a new development, Edward being vulnerable and envious. Even with Emmett he wasn't this transparent.

I eventually got bored of the tire swing and decided to take a walk in the creek. Edward opted to watch, after testing how cold the water was. He slumped lazily against the tree while I slipped my shoes off and rolled up my jeans. I dipped my big toe in, it was absolutely freezing. I giggled a little and pulled my toe out. I just had to do it, no testing the waters..just go for it. I stepped confidently into the water, jumping around a bit as the frigid water washed over my legs. It only went up to my knee, but I could feel the cold all the way up to my stomach.

"You're crazy," Edward called, laughing at my display.

"Only for you babe."

His face went blank. Had I said something wrong?

"Edward what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Did that bother you? That I said that?"

"No."

"No?"

I walked out of the creek, strolled over to him and took his hand. I led him to the edge of the creek and let go of his hand so I could make my way back into the ice water.

"You know when I dipped my toe in the water earlier," I started as I began dragging my toe across the slippery rocks on the bottom. "I wasn't sure if I should go in…I mean it's just absolutely freezing. Then I decided that it was worth it…and that I shouldn't be testing the waters..I should just,…go for it." I looked back up at him, hoping he would see the double meaning of my words.

He kept my gaze and started to take his shoes and socks off. I stood still as he waded into the water, never taking his eyes away from mine.

I held my hands out to him and pulled him close to me. We stood in the middle of the creek in each other's arms, allowing the soft current to float past us.

I reached my lips up to his ear.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

He didn't say anything, he just squeezed me tighter. I didn't expect him to say it back and it was okay. I was surprised I had said it and I didn't want to force him to say anything. I never thought I could fall this fast for someone I barely knew.

He pulled away to face me.

"Bella I-"

"It's okay you don't have to say anything." I was just hoping that I hadn't scared him off.

He just smiled and gently pressed his lips to mine. An instant later he swooped me up into his arms.

"Let's get you home before you catch hypothermia…that water is fucking freezing!" He shook his head in disgust.

I started laughing hysterically. He was so cute when he complained.

Edward carried me all the way back to my house. It was starting to get dark and Charlie had turned on the porch light for us. The air was still relatively warm, but our teeth were chattering from the lingering cold in our legs. He set me down on the porch swing.

"Stay put," he instructed as he ran inside.

He reemerged a few minutes later with a blanket and a large bucket, steam rising up from it. He laid the bucket down in front of me before taking his place next to me on the swing.

"Dive in," he said as he covered us with the blanket.

We both plunged our feet into the warm water, letting it fight the cold off.

"Thank you," I whispered nuzzling into his chest.

"Wouldn't want you to lose a toe or anything…that shit messes with your balance."

I laughed into him and wrapped my arm around his waist.

We sat there for the next few hours warming up and watching the fireflies out across the yard. I saw Charlie peak out of the window a couple times, looking totally annoyed. I just smiled at him and snuggled closer to Edward.

Dad and James: 0. Edward: 1.


	7. All Messed Up

**Edward**

I couldn't sleep that night. I lay awake for hours, tossing and turning. _She was falling in love with me. _The only girl who'd loved me before was my mom and I didn't know how to deal with it. I felt just as strongly for her, there was no denying it. _Why couldn't I say it out loud?_ I just stood there in the water frozen, literally and figuratively.

I wanted to go tell her now. I couldn't say I loved her yet, not quite. But I finally believed that it was possible for me. She made me believe. I didn't think loving someone in this capacity was ever going to happen for me, yet it was happening. I was falling in love with Bella Swan.

I heard a sound above me, a creak in the floorboards. Was she coming down here? I held my breath and listened. Another creak. Sounded like on the stairs. Maybe it was Charlie coming down to murder me and bury my body out in the woods. Another creak. Right outside my door. My door slowly inched open. I couldn't see into the darkness.

"Bella?" I whispered. I propped myself up on my elbows and squinted into the dark. I suddenly felt a mass of fur on top of me followed by a rough tongue across my face.

"Dammit Bruskey! Get off me!" I pushed at him, but he didn't budge. So I gave in, and he curled up on top of me practically cutting of my air supply. At least he was warm. I started petting him, rubbing down his back and patting his head. I looked down into the dog's huge brown eyes, they almost looked like Bella's.

"Oh Bruskey I am in trouble man."

He laid his head down on my chest and looked up at me, insisting that I continue.

"I've just never been good at relationships and….love." I winced at the word. "And it's not that I don't have feelings for her, I do. They're true and genuine and more than I ever thought I could experience. But I'm so afraid I'm going to mess it up and she deserves much better than a half-ass effort from anyone."

Bruskey let out a grunt.

"I just really…really want to do this right. I've been enough of a fuck up most of my life and this is the one thing that I'm going to give my all to."

He licked my hand.

"I can't believe I'm talking to a dog about my love life."

I brought my hands up to my face and exhaled loudly.

There was another creak at the door.

"Do you have brothers man?"

I turned back to look at him. He looked utterly content.

"No? Good, they're a pain in the ass. Take my word for it."

"But in all fairness, if you didn't have a brother to hate, you might have no met me."

I turned towards the door, where Bella's head was peaking in. I let out a nervous laugh. _How long had she been standing there?_

She creeped into the room and settled in on the bed.

"Long enough." She answered the question in my mind. She pulled her face up to mine and lingered for a moment before bringing her lips to mine.

"You know if Charlie finds you in here he's going to kill both of us."

"He won't find me in here. I'll sneak back up in the morning."

I closed my eyes and sighed. This felt right to me. Me and Bella. It was like it was how it was supposed to be.

I drifted off to sleep smiling at our happy I was, here in this moment.

I could feel the heat of the sun on my skin the next morning, but I wasn't ready to wake up yet. Someone started poking me….hard.

"Bella just go back to sleep." I mumbled, my voice still half asleep.

The poking…again. Right on my chest.

"What?!" I opened my eyes and was suddenly aware that we weren't alone. Charlie stood in the doorway, his mouth gaping. Bella snuggled to me bracing herself for her father's wrath. I snuggled closer to Bruskey, attempting to do the same.

"Bella! Out!"

She didn't move.

"NOW!"

She looked up at me panicked, but not for her, for me. She was worried about me. I was worried about me, but she made me brave enough for whatever her dad was about to do to me.

"It's okay, go." I kissed her forehead before she hopped out of bed and stepped out of the room. Bruskey placed a slobbery kiss on my cheek and followed her out.

"Thanks man!" I called after him. "Way to leave me on my own in here!"

Charlie closed the door and I heard the click of the lock. _Shit._ _Why didn't we think of that last night? All of this could have been prevented by a simple push of a lock._

"Stupid," I muttered to myself as I slapped my palm on my forehead.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick your ass and then kick your ass out."

I could be clever, or smart, or sarcastic, but I felt like now was not the time. I wanted to be honest with him.

"Because I'm falling in love with your daughter."

"Hmph." He crossed his arms and gave me a very doubtful look.

"Look. I know you don't know me and this is all very sudden, but Bella means more to me than anything in this entire world. When she's happy I want to be there to see her smile, and when she's sad I want to be the one taking care of her. I want to be all those things for her; she makes me want to be better than I ever thought I could be Charlie. Whether you believe it or not, it's all true and I'm willing to take whatever you're about to dish out to me, because she's worth it and there's nothing you could do or say that will change that. I'm willing to fight to be with her, so you better be prepared." There was a bit of acid in those last words and I hadn't meant there to be. _Wow, _I thought to myself. _Where did all that come from?_

Charlie stood frozen, staring at me with the same gaping expression as before.

"Bella!" He screamed. "Stop peeking through the window and get in here!"

I whipped over to the window to see the top of her head in the corner of the window.

Charlie turned and unlocked the door an instant before Bella came plowing through it. She went straight past Charlie and with a leap landed in my lap. She put her arms around me and kissed me. I couldn't believe she was doing this in front of her dad. I had to be the one to pull away.

Charlie stared at us, intertwined in each other and back and forth between both of our faces. After what felt like an eternity he finally spoke.

"You," he pointed to Bella, "sleep in your own room from now on."

He turned and stalked out, grabbing his jacket and keys as he headed out the front door. I don't think either of us breathed until we heard his car pull out of the driveway.

"I'm so sorry Edward, that was all my fault." She looked at me apologetically.

"No, no it wasn't. It's okay." I pulled her close to me and comforted her. She looked really down, and I didn't like seeing my Bella sad like that.

"Hey so what are we doing today?"

"I don't know." She was still upset. This wasn't okay. I decided I was going to sacrifice any dignity I had to make her happy.

"How about you take me fishing…show me how its done?"

She pulled her face back from my chest, her eyes were lit up and she was grinning an amazingly huge grin.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Yeah! Let's do it." I smiled at her.

"Yes! Okay you just lay here, I'm going to make us breakfast." She kissed the tip of my nose and flitted out to the kitchen. Pretty soon the smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes made its way into the room. I closed my eyes and inhaled.

"Breakfast is served."

I opened my eyes to an entire smorgasbord.

"Wow babe this looks…great."

"Thanks," she smiled as she set the tray down on the bed and climbed in.

"You're very in to making declarations of your love for me today," she said as she nibbled on a piece of bacon. That in itself was sexy as hell. There's no way you'd find any of the girls back in the city even looking at a piece of bacon.

"Yeah…I guess I am." I laughed as I took another bite of pancake.

"You'll be thoroughly rewarded for that." She gathered up the empty tray and winked seductively as she left the room.

_Hey maybe this love stuff isn't so bad._

"I'm going to go take a shower before we go," she called out from the kitchen. "You probably should too…."

I got up and shuffled into the kitchen.

"Point me in the right direction."

She took me upstairs and got me towels before leading me into the upstairs bathroom. I turned on the water and let it warm up before hopping in. I closed my eyes, letting the warm water rush over me. My eyes opened wide as I felt a pair of hands on my chest.

"Bella! What the hell are you doing?"

She smiled at me.

"I told you I needed to take a shower too."

I looked at her, confused.

"We only have one shower, what was I supposed to do?"

We both laughed.

"Should we be expecting Charlie back anytime soon....?" I didn't need another run in with Charlie today, and I had a feeling if he didn't want me sleeping with his daughter he definitely wouldn't want me showering with her.

"No he left for work he won't be back until later."

_Phew._

She grabbed the soap and started rubbing it across my chest.

_I think this might be the best shower ever._

After we were both squeaky clean we stepped out of the shower. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. She shivered and cuddled in closer to me before unwrapping the towel and repositioning it around both of us. We dried off and she skipped to her room to get dressed. I headed back downstairs to do the same.

I sat at the counter, drumming my fingers against the top waiting for her.

She bounded down the stairs wearing a plain tank top and jeans. Anyone else would have look completely plain and ordinary in it, but Bella made it look anything but. She had let her hair air-dry, so it fell down her back in soft natural curls.

"Ready?" She paused at the door.

"I am."

She went to the little shed behind her house to get the fishing poles. She came back out with the poles, a tackle box, and a cooler, a bucket, and a small cup.

"What's all that for?" I asked as I took some of the load.

"The tackle box has supplies, the cooler's for the beer, the bucket's for the fish, and the cup's for the worms we're gonna dig up."

"Worms?"

"Yeah. Worms." She smiled softly and started walking towards the woods.

_Worms? Disgusting._


	8. Can't Take the HonkeyTonk Outta the Girl

I loved watching Edward squirm almost as much as the worms. I walked slightly ahead of him in the woods, looking for any large rocks or any place where some could be hiding. It was actually incredibly warm in the forest; there was almost no breeze. The air was stuffy, but the sunlight was streaming through the canopy and it felt good.

I spotted what looked like a good, solid wormy rock.

"Edward." I turned back to him. "Can you lift this up please?" I pointed down to the rock. I was also perfectly capable of lifting the rock, but I wanted to see him do it.

"Why?" He eyed me suspiciously. I felt like he knew me all too well already.

"You'll see…"

He walked hesitantly over to the rock and dug his fingers under it. With little effort, he lifted it off the ground to reveal about a dozen or so pink worms in the dirt below.

"Perfect." I started to scoop them into the cup.

"Perfectly disgusting," Edward countered back.

"Hey we need some kind of bait if you plan on catching anything."

We walked to the creek, picking up random rocks along the way and collecting more bait.

"So how are we going to catch anything in this little creek anyway?" Edward was eyeing the water.

"Oh we're not fishing here. We're going to follow the creek up that way," I pointed to the right. "It empties into a little river. Perfect for fishing."

We continued idly along, not in any rush to get anywhere. That's one thing I loved about it here. There was never any rush. No reason to hurry. Back in the city it was all schedules and timetables…here it was just go with the flow. It was relaxing.

I took my shoes off and starting walking along in the creek. It was getting so hot out that the ice water felt good on my feet. Edward said he'd take my word for it.

After another half hour we came up to our destination. The trees thinned as we approached the riverbank. There was one single tree on the bank, whose long branches arched over the water. It must have been 100 years old. I set the supplies down and began my tutoring lesson.

"Okay so the first thing you have to do is bait the worm on the hook."

I grabbed a worm from the cup and pressed it on the hook, looping it several times.

"That is disgusting," Edward said as he watched in horror.

"That's life." I smiled at him. "Here I'll bait your first one for you so you don't have to touch the worm." I set my pole aside and baited his hook for him.

"Now, you just have to cast it out." I began demonstrating the "flick and release" method. My line flew out in the dead center of the river. The water was clear and shimmering in the sunlight. It wasn't one of those dirty rivers, where you wondered if you would sprout extra limbs if you got some of the water on you. It was crystal clear and absolutely beautiful.

Edward tried to cast his out, but he released it too early and it got caught in the grass behind him.

"Uh oh, premature release?" I smiled at him seductively as I placed my hand over his. He swallowed hard.

"Do it like this." I stood close to him, keeping my hand on his and went through the motions. His line finally got thrown out, landing a several feet behind mine.

"Okay now what do we do?" He looked tense as he gripped the fishing pole.

I sat down in the grass and laid back.

"We wait."

"Wait?"

"Yeah…we wait and see if the fish are going to bite. Do you want a beer?"

"Yeah sure." I grabbed in the cooler and pulled two out.

"So, your Dad's the Sheriff in town and he doesn't care that you drink?," Edward asked.

"No not really. I mean it's a small country town, all the kids do it. Most of them even get served down at the bar." My eyes lit up as I suddenly got an idea. "Hey let's go down there tonight…to the bar I mean. It'll be fun, come on."

"Yeah okay…sure." I think Edward was excited because a bar would feel make him feel more comfortable than all this nature stuff.

I lay back in the grass and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Edward was laying beside me with his shirt off, soaking in the sun. I smiled, taking in his perfect chest. The sunlight played perfectly off all of the lines created by his subtle muscles.

I let out a catcall.

He smiled, keeping his eyes closed.

_What the hell? _I thought to myself. _I don't really want any weird tan lines either._

I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and rolled up my jeans before settling back into my previous position. I slipped my bra straps down and pulled my arms out of them. _Much better._

I heard a matching cat call from beside me.

I opened my eyes to find Edward staring at me.

"Was that really necessary? You're driving me crazy over here."

"Hey it's no less than a bathing suit. And you obviously have no idea about the effect you're having on me right now."

"Am I turning you on Bella?" He smiled in mock seduction as he crawled towards me. "Am I sexy? Am I a sexy beast?" He was practically on top of me now and I was laughing hysterically.

"Very very sexy," I whispered as he kissed my neck.

He brought his lips up to my ear. "Good…because I think you are very…very sexy too."

He leaned back on the grass and closed his eyes again. We laid there for a good twenty minutes. It was starting to get way beyond hot outside. I think the combination of beer and heat must have taken its effect on Edward because his light snoring began to fill the air. I turned to face him and ran my fingers idly down his warm chest. _I can't believe this is all mine._ I traced back up to his jaw line and brought my lips up to kiss his sleeping eyes.

I couldn't concentrate, it was getting so unbearably hot out. I looked out at the water. _Why did I think of that before?_ I reeled the fishing poles in, they obviously weren't biting today. My shorts fell to the ground and I began to wade out into the water. It felt so refreshing washing all the sweat off my body. I glanced back up at the sleeping man on the riverbank and smiled. Once I was deep enough in the water I slipped my bra off and slung it towards land. It landed next to Edward's head with a thud. He shot up and looked around with a confused look on his face. He picked up my bra between his pointer finger and thumb and started looking around again.

"I'm over here," I called.

He finally spotted me.

"What are you doing?" He set my bra back down.

"It's hot." I reached for the hem of my underwear and stepped out of them. "I'm going swimming." I tossed them up to join my bra.

"Fuck Bella, what the hell are you trying to do to me? First you surprise me in the shower and now I wake up and you're skinny dipping in a river."

"Well you could always join me and then we'd be skinny dipping together."

He stood up and walked slowly to the water. His toe dipped in slightly, testing the water. He looked cautiously out over the water.

"Nothing's going to bite you," I said. "Except maybe me."

That was all the encouragement he needed. He slipped his jeans off and walked confidently out to meet me. Once he stood next to me I felt along his sides until I met the hem of his boxers and slid them down. They joined my underwear and bra on the shore.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself to him. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I tried to bring myself impossibly closer. His hands felt down my spine and landed on my hips, holding me to him. I hugged him closer, nuzzling into his neck. He did the same, placing his lips on my shoulder and giving it a gentle kiss. I kissed his neck and opened my mouth just enough to drag my teeth across his skin.

He exhaled loudly. "Bella, Bella, Bella…" He held me tighter.

"I told you I might bite," I whispered into his ear.

He pulled his face back to look at me for an immeasurable amount of time. His eyes burned into mine, asking the question without words. I nodded to him slowly.

"Yeah? Are you sure?" I was definitely sure. If I wasn't one hundred percent sure about Edward before, I was now. I wanted to be with him in every way possible.

I didn't say anything I just leaned forward and kissed him again, rougher than before. I hoped he would take that as his reassurance. One of his hands left my hips and felt down the front of me, circling with one finger around my bellybutton. I pulled my lips away from his and kissed down his neck and down his chest as far as I could reach. His breathing was starting to grow more ragged. This was it. I lifted myself up into position. He reached under the water, anticipating. I was just about to lower myself onto him when he frantically started running back towards the shore, dropping me in the middle of the river. He was screaming like a little girl.

"What the hell's wrong with you!?" I screamed back at him.

"Something." His eyes were desperately scanning the water. "Something brushed past my leg. It was slimy and gross and terrible and what if it attacked me. You need to get out of there, right now."

I laughed, even though I was a little disappointed that something as stupid as a fish had interrupted us. I slowly made my way back to shore and gave him a hug.

"Babe it's okay." I rubbed his back. "It was probably just a fish or a water snake…or maybe even some grass or something."

"See you don't even know what it was!" He was adorable when he was panicky. Big, tough, Edward Cullen scared of a little fishy.

I just looked at him with amused eyes. He suddenly realized how much he was overacting and his face fell.

"I'm sorry. I just ruined everything." He looked down at his feet.

"It's okay, you didn't ruin anything." He looked back up, but wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Hey." I grabbed his face and made him look at me. "You didn't ruin anything. We'll try again later okay?" I stood on my tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Okay." He turned back and collected our clothes. We both got dressed and gathered up all of our gear before heading back to the house.

My dad was home when we got back and was cooking burgers on the grill.

"Catch anything?" He asked as we came up on the back porch.

"No. The _fish _just weren't biting today." I winked at Edward.

"Bummer." Charlie flipped the three burgers.

"So we were thinking about heading into town tonight, maybe down to The Barn." The Barn was the only bar in town and it was about a ten minute walk from my house. It was the hot spot in town and I'm sure there would be plenty of people there tonight.

"Oh yeah. That sounds like a good idea. I would join you but I have to work early tomorrow." He turned off the grill and placed the burgers on the plate.

During dinner my dad asked Edward how he liked fishing.

"You know I didn't really care for it at first, but I started to warm up to it at the end there."

I choked on the piece of burger I was chewing.

"You okay Bells?" Charlie looked towards me with concern.

"Oh yeah," I managed to stammer out. I took a sip of water.

Edward looked at me with a smile. _You'll pay for that one later buddy._

I cleared off the plates when everyone was done. My dad and Edward chatted while I did the dishes. Despite their little run in this morning, I felt like they were getting along pretty well. Bruskey sat dutifully beside Edward while he patted his head.

"Um Edward, I don't want to interrupt your little male bonding session, but you should take a shower now if you want to…before we go."

"Oh yeah I probably should."

We both headed upstairs and I walked him to the bathroom.

"No surprise visits today," he said as he kissed me and closed the door.

Did he think I wanted to die young? I would never pull a stunt like that with my Dad here. I waited in my room, skimming through my old yearbook, until I heard him walk past my door and head downstairs. I gathered up my supplies and went into the bathroom to take my shower.

I decided to…spice up my wardrobe a little bit for tonight. I still owed Edward some payback for his comment at dinner earlier. I put on my shortest pair of cutoff shorts, which really complemented my newly tanned legs. I threw on my red plaid shirt and tied it at my waistline, just allowing a sliver of skin to show between it and my shorts. I blow-dried my hair relatively straight, with a few waves radiating through it. I added a small braid on each side to pull some of the hair out of my face. With a swish of blush and mascara I was ready to go. My dad said goodnight as he passed by my room. Good thing he didn't peek in. He would have never let me go out like this. But nothing was sexier than seeing Edward coming undone and I knew that this outfit would accomplish it perfectly. I pulled on my tan cowboy boots and bounded down the stairs.

Edward was sitting at the counter, drumming his fingers like usual. He froze when he saw me.

"You…you're wearing that tonight huh?"

"Yeah. Let's go." I turned and headed out the back door, giving him a full view of my…assets. I chuckled to myself and undid another button on my blouse. _This was going to be too easy. _

Edward didn't say a thing the whole walk there. I caught him staring a couple times, as he repeatedly got caught walking a few steps behind me.

The Barn was pretty crowded when we got there, I recognized a lot of faces but I wasn't going to be the first one to walk up and say hello. I felt everyone's eyes on us as we made our way across the floor. I didn't know if it was me, or Edward, or both of us together.

"So you really think we're gonna get served here?" Edward seemed weary.

"Just watch and learn." We approached the bar.

"Two beers please." I kept my eyes on Edward as I slipped some money across the bar.

"I'm sorry miss, you look a little young to me."

_Shit. Of course._

Edward stifled back a laugh.

I turned slowly towards the bartender, ready to lay into him. I recognized the mischievous grin across his face as soon as I saw it.

"Oh my God…Jake?!"

I was instantly overcome with happiness. Jake had been my best friend growing up, we had practically done everything together. He was even my first kiss when we were eight. I hurdled over the bar like it was nothing and scooped him up into a hug.

"Hey Bells! I didn't know you were back here!" He swayed us side to side.

I pulled back from him.

"Oh just for a visit. What have you been doing? How long have you worked here?"

"Well I just got back from my first year of college and I started working here a few weeks ago. Just as a summer job you know. But I actually started working here as soon as I was old enough to. It kinda helps when your dad owns the place."

"Oh my gosh that's right. How is Billy?"

"He's still kicking." Jake smiled. I missed him so much; I couldn't believe I was here with him now.

Jake's eyes shifted to Edward. "So who's the guy?"

"Oh! I'm sorry." I ran back around to stand next to Edward. "This is Edward. Edward this is Jake, my very best friend."

Jake extended his hand to Edward and thankfully he took it, although he looked a little apprehensive.

"Well have a seat and I'll get you a drink."

Edward and I sat down and the barstool while Jake poured us both a mug of beer.

"So Edward, are you Bella's boyfriend?"

"Gosh Jake, still forward as ever I see." My eyes glanced to Edward. I'd let him take this one.

"We don't like labels. We're just, together I guess." Edward rested his hand on my thigh as he took a swig from his mug.

"Well as long as you're taking care of my best friend here, I don't care what you are."

I smiled at Jake. He reached below the counter and produced stack of quarters.

"The music's sucked since you've left. Go resurrect the jukebox."

Finally some country music with some country music people. I grabbed the quarters excitedly and scurried over my own little music savior. I glanced back and Jake and Edward who were watching me closely and talking back and forth. After about five minutes I had ten songs lined up. Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Big and Rich. All my boys were up and ready to go.

I walked back over to my boys.

"So Jake I think I'm gonna steal Edward here and teach him how to shoot some pool." I winked at him and swooped up my beer and Edward's hand.

"Pool is one thing you don't have to teach me Bella," Edward said as I racked up the ball.

I just smiled as I walked around to the other side, positioning the ball so I could break. I brought my stick back and shot it forward. Three balls went in.

"Oh is that so?" I said smugly as I took a drink of my beer.

"Dammit Bella. I feel like I'm in that Sweet Home Alabama movie or something."

I looked at him with a wide-open mouth.

"And if you tell anyone that I've seen that I will hurt you."

I laughed so hard I almost spilled my beer.

"Well," I started. "I've always been more keen on Dukes of Hazzard than Sweet Home Alabama." I made sure I rubbed up against him as I slid past.

He came up behind me and brought his mouth to my ear. "I won't disagree with that, especially with you in those Daisy Dukes." The shorts had clearly served their purpose.

Edward was definitely better at pool than fishing, but still not good enough to beat me.

"And that's how its done," I said as I shot the eight ball into the corner pocket. I was definitely starting to feel tipsy. We'd gone through more than a few beers by this point. The song on the jukebox changed to my favorite Brooks and Dunn song.

"Ooo let's dance. Come on!" I sloppily pulled Edward onto the dance floor. I was fully intent on teaching him how to square dance, but I could barely keep my own feet straight. We laughed as he had to hold me steady and keep me from falling over. I spent the whole song trying to explain it to him and by the end he was doing it better than me. I could only imagined what he looked like. Guy in a leather jacket square dancing. Priceless. I grabbed the camera out of my purse and pulled Edward in for a picture. I laid a kiss on his cheek as the flash went off.

The next song was a slow one and we looked at each other questioning.

"What the hell? Dance with me." I started to reach up for his neck. I felt his hands around me waist.

"Umm excuse me ma'am?" There was a poke on my shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

I turned and saw the last person on the face of this earth that I wanted to see at this moment. _James._

"No thank you we're fine," I snapped and turned back to Edward looking for help.

"Well now Bella that's not very polite. Especially after all our history." He extended his hand out to Edward. "I'm James."

"Edward." He didn't grab his hand. For once I was thankful for Edward's reappearing hard ass attitude.

"Come Bells, just dance with me..please." I looked back at him.

"You know what…fine!" I looked back at Edward apologetically. I knew James wasn't going to let up and I just wanted to get it over with. Edward nodded and went to go sit back at the bar, but not before I planted a kiss on his lips. I wanted to make sure James knew that the dance meant nothing, that I was taken.

His arms snaked around my waist and I exhaled in boredom. Everytime I could I stole a glance at Edward, who was talking to Jake at the bar. He would half-heartedly smile at me when he met my eyes. I mouthed sorry to him.

"Come on Bella, you can do better than that. At least pay attention to me while you're dancing with me."

I looked back at James. He was starting to piss me off…even more than before.

"So is he your boyfriend?"

"What's it to you?" I shot him a look of intense anger.

"Does he kiss you like I used to?" He leaned closer. "Does he..touch you like I did?" I brought his hand up and caressed my neck.

I smiled.

"No," I admitted. "He's better."

He laughed, and I had to join in because he was acting so pathetic. It was definitely laughable. Comparing him to Edward was like comparing a rent by the hour motel to a five star resort. There was no comparison. James had never been loving, never tried to make me laugh or protect me. It was always all about him when we were together and with Edward it was like we were two pieces of one whole. I suddenly decidedly I was wasting precious time I had to spend with Edward and slided out of James's grip. I smiled as I walked over to the bar, but he was gone.

"Jake where is he?"

"I don't know, he bolted pretty quick a few minutes after you started dancing with asswipe."

_Dammit. What did I just do? I could have just messed everything up for nothing. _

I threw James one more hateful before booking it out of the door.


	9. Battles

**A/N: Just in case you were wondering. I didn't abandon Brand New. I've just had so many ideas with this story that I was excited so I wanted to write them. I'll be periodically updating Brand New as well as this one.**

**And I love your reviews, so keep them coming. They're almost as good as Edward squaredancing in his leather jacket. : )**

Edward

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I muttered to myself as I walked alone down the dark dirt road. I was so stupid for thinking that she really wanted me. When I saw her out there on the dance floor with James, she was laughing. It was like her old life just…fell right back into place and I wasn't a part of it. I could be for this visit, but this place wasn't me and there was no way I could ever fit into it. I just had to get out of there. She probably didn't even notice I was gone.

Jacob was nice; we actually bonded pretty quickly despite being so different. I hoped we could stay in touch after I left. Speaking of leaving how was I going to get home? I kicked a large rock down the road, creating a dust cloud. I guess I could call a taxi, it'd probably cost me an ass-ton but I guess I'll have to.

Pretty soon I came up to the rock I had kicked earlier. I picked it up and threw it into the open field next to me. I was so frustrated. I don't know why it bothered me so much to see her out there with James. I just felt so…distant from her life. I don't know why she left here in the first place, she was obviously more herself here, I could tell. She was alive and beautiful and just…happy. I couldn't resent her for being happier here, I was truly happy that she was happy but I couldn't stay here.

As I came to the end of my little internal rant I finally came to the realization that I wasn't falling in love with Bella. I was already there. That's why I was so upset about what happened tonight. I was losing her, and I'd barely had her.

I couldn't believe I was thinking like this. Bella and I are just…too different. Maybe I was just a fascination, an experiment to her. Maybe I was her form of rebellion. She should be with someone like James or Jacob, she fit with them.

I put my head down and turned down her street. I could see the porch light on. How would I explain this to Charlie if he woke up? Oh I just left your daughter at the bar alone with her ex-boyfriend. I'm sure he'd be thrilled, he seemed to prefer James over me. I hadn't missed that exchange at dinner the first night.

I heard someone behind me, it was almost impossible to sneak up on someone walking on a dirt road.

"Edward!"

That couldn't be Bella….could it?

"Edward! Wait!"

Yeah that was definitely Bella. I turned to see her jogging down the road. She finally caught up to me.

"Why did you leave?" She put her hand on my shoulder.

"Bella this isn't going to work."

She looked like someone just told her dog died.

"Why not?"

"We're just too different Bella. I mean look at you…and look at me. You looked so alive tonight at the bar, and I know it's because you belong here. I don't belong here Bella, I can't belong here."

"What the hell Edward?!" She was halfway between angry and crying.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" She shoved me back a little. "What you make me fall in love with you and then you leave me, is that what you had planned all along?"

"I didn't plan anything!" We were both shouting now. Good thing there weren't any houses around.

"And my life isn't here. It's in the city, it's with you now!" Tears were starting to stream down her face.

"Yeah it didn't look that way, you looked pretty happy talking to James." I turned and started stalking back to her house.

"You're such an asshole." She trudged past me.

I ran up to her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face me.

"I'm an asshole? You were the one who was dancing and flirting with your ex-boyfriend right in front me when it's clearly obvious that I'm in love with you. Yeah I said it, Edward Cullen is in love!" I screamed it out into the darkness.

"How the hell did you come to the conclusion that I was flirting with James…that's absolutely ridiculous."

I took out a cigarette lit it quickly. This shit was too stressful for me.

"You looked pretty happy laughing and smiling in his arms."

She took a step towards me.

"You want to know why I was happy and laughing? I was bragging…about how wonderful you were. And how he couldn't even compare to you, not even a little bit." Her anger was gone, but the hurt was still there. A single tear ran down her cheek.

I stood frozen. I knew that she was telling the truth. Shit, shit, shit. I really messed that one up.

"Bella I-" I started to walk towards her.

"Forget it." She brushed me off and ran quickly back to her house.

Shit. I was going to pay for that one.

I walked slowly back to the house, enjoying my cigarette. Her door was closed.

"Bella?" I whispered as I knocked. "Can I come in?"

Nothing.

"Bella?" I called a little louder.

I tried the doorknob but it was locked. I pressed my ear up to her door and listened. She was crying. I could hear her sniffles through the door. Dammit Edward. I shook my head. Everything was perfectly fine until you overacted, like usual.

I gave up and went back down to my room. It wasn't even midnight yet, I wasn't tired so I just laid in bed. I had to make this up to her somehow. I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. I heard Bruskey barking outside my window. They must have accidentally left him outside.

I got up and walked slowly to the front door. It was warm outside so I decided to sit for a while on the porch swing, waiting for a little inspiration to come.

Bruskey came up and sat beside my feet.

"I messed up buddy, help." I looked down at his eyes, and I swear he understood what I meant. He got up and started walking out into the yard.

"Where are you going?" I got up and started following him.

He disappeared into the huge barn in their backyard. I stopped and looked at it. This looked like a horror movie waiting to happen. Bruskey let out a bark from inside, almost yelling at me to get my ass in there.

"Alright, alright." I whispered to him as I opened the door and went in.

The barn was practically empty, like it hadn't been used in a while. There was some stray hay on the floor and a ladder to my right. Bruskey was standing next to the ladder, gesturing up with his head.

"Hell no man. I'm not climbing up there, there might be….bats or a serial killer up there."

He barked again.

"No." I was not backing down on this one, he got me in here, he was not getting me up that ladder.

Five minutes later I had climbed the ladder and was in some kind of loft. It was pretty big, it was almost half the length of the entire barn. There were a few windows that looked out over the yard. I felt around for a light, and found a switch after about ten minutes. There was a radio and what looked like Christmas decorations in the corner. This must be where they stored everything for the summer. I walked over and turned on the radio, flipping through the stations. I paused for a minute when I heard "Free Ride."

"God I love this song."

I had my own private jam session, dancing with myself up in the loft. I sat back down and changed the station again. The DJ was talking.

"Okay folks, this is 95.3 WTLM All country all the time. Tonight we're playing country's greatest love songs all night long, so grab your sweetie and cuddle up because you're in for one romantic night."

Another slow song started. I picked up a stack of Christmas lights and ran them through my fingers. Suddenly I had an idea. I turned around quickly and practically fell down the ladder.

"Bruskey you are a genius!" I patted him on the head as I pulled my cell phone out.

I searched through my contacts, looking for its newest addition and hit send.

"Jake! Hey it's Edward. Listen I need a favor, it's really important…"

A few minutes later I was back in the house and back in bed. I heard someone coming down the stairs and open my door.

_Just like I thought, he's checking on me. _

I began to exaggerate my breathing, so he'd know I was asleep.

I jumped out of bed when I heard Charlie's police cruiser pull down the driveway.

I tiptoed back upstairs. I had noticed some blankets in the same closet as the towels. I grabbed a few big ones and headed back out to the barn.

It took me close to an hour to get everything ready. The radio was turned off, but on the right station. Everything else was ready to go.

I walked back up to the house, praying that my little plan would go off without a hitch.

I wasn't quiet on the stairs, Charlie was gone there was no need to be. I pounded loudly on the door.

"Bella!"

"Go away dick!" She shouted back. She must have seen Charlie leave too.

I had to laugh. At least she had some spirit in her. I was also hoping she had some curiosity.

"Bella. I'm going to go out to the barn now. And I would really like it if you would join me, if you want. If you don't want to that's okay." I heard her stop sniffling. "So I'm gonna go now." I started inching back down the stairs. "And hopefully I'll see you in a few minutes."

If I knew her as well as I thought I did, or hoped I did, she'd be out in less than ten minutes. The suspense must be killing her. I smiled to myself as I made my way back out to the barn, knowing she was watching me from her bedroom window. Mission accomplished. Now all I had to do was sit and wait for my girl.


	10. Real Fine Place to Start

**A/N: So I have a huge History mid-term Thursday and I haven't been motivated to study for it so this is my last chapter at least until Thursday night maybe Friday, which is why not only did I do two today but this one is pretty long to hold you over. XOXO**

**Bella**

I shouldn't go out there. I shouldn't go out there. I shouldn't go out there. I stood at my window watching him cross the yard and disappear into the barn. This is an evil, evil plan. He's good. I stared out the window long after he'd gone inside the barn tapping my foot. I'm not going out there. I sat back down on my bed. What does he think he can just be all mysterious and make me come crawling back to him? No, I was going to make him wait. He messed up. Bad. I lay back on my bed and glanced at the clock. The minutes slowly dragged by. 2…4….7…9…10 minutes. I stared back out the window. There was some kind of light coming out the windows at the top. I felt Bruskey jump on my bed.

"I'm not going out there."

He whined and nudged my shoulder.

"No, no, no. I'm not doing it."

He looked at me and whined again.

"Okay I'm going out there."

I slid on my oversized sweatshirt and pair of flip-flops and headed down the stairs. I'd never hear the end of this one. He knew just how to get me. Once I got outside I realized the sweatshirt wasn't needed, it was still very warm out even thought it was close to 12:30. Bruskey followed me across the lawn and opened the barn door in front of me. There was soft music coming from up in the loft.

"Edward?" I called up.

"Yeah I'm up here."

I crawled tentatively up the ladder, not knowing what to expect. Nothing could have prepared me for what was up there. White Christmas lights were strung from the rafters, creating a soft glow in the room. If I looked up, it just looked like a sea of white light, like a dream.

"Oh my…" I brought my hand up to my mouth. There were blankets laid down in the corner and soft music coming from the radio on the floor.

Edward was standing in the middle of the floor, his hand outstretched towards me.

"I believe I owe you a dance."

I couldn't move, and I could swear I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. This kind of stuff only happened in movies. Without another thought, I reached my hand out to grab his and he pulled me close to his chest.

"Edward how did you-"

He put his finger up to my lips.

"Just dance with me for now, we can talk later."

So I closed my mouth and nuzzled into his neck. I was too easy. All was forgiven. Any guy who put this much effort into an apology deserved to be forgiven.

At the end of the song he lifted my chin with his finger and placed an amazingly gentle kiss on my lips.

"I'm sorry about earlier Bella, I was stupid and jealous."

"I know. I forgive you." I liked hearing him say the word jealous. Speaking of his words, I was quite interested in questioning him about what he'd said earlier.

"Edward did you mean it…what you said earlier? You know, about…me."

He smiled.

"Bella Swan, I am so in love with you it hurts…..in a good way."

I smiled back at him.

"Good…because I love you too."

I pulled his face to mine for a long kiss. His hand grabbed tighter around my waist and pulled me closer.

"And there's something else Edward."

"Hold on one minute…if we're going to take a break from the dancing." He held up a finger and then went to the corner and grabbed the blankets. He laid them out in the middle of the "dance floor", took a seat, and patted the empty space next to him.

I sat down and entwined my legs with his outstretched ones.

"Edward, you know how earlier you said…I looked happy…and alive here. Well that's true all of it. And I am happy to visit here, I really miss it. I miss my life here and I'm not scared to admit it. But I didn't look happy and alive because of this place, it was because of you Edward. You're making me feel more alive than I have in a long time."

He brought his hand up to caress my face.

"God I love you." He put his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. We lay back on the blanket and I draped my arms across his chest. He rotated placing kisses on my forehead, or on my hand, or my cheek. I was so incredibly happy in that moment, I don't think anything could break me from my euphoria.

Suddenly panic ripped through my body.

"Charlie!" I said springing up. "What if he comes back Edward, we can't stay out here, he can't find us here!"

"Relax Bella," he said smugly as he put his hands behind his head. "I took care of it."

"You took care of it?" I looked at him, completely puzzled.

"I called Jacob. Jacob called Charlie. Something about having some problems with some…damage down at the bar. He'll be gone all night investigating. I must say Jacob and I make a pretty good team when it comes to scamming Charlie out of the house."

"You. Bad. Boys." I sat back down. I'd have to thank Jacob for that later.

He dazzled me with another smile and then his eyes turned serious.

"I wanted to make this right Bella. I wanted it to be perfect."

I crawled on top of him, straddling his waist.

"It is." I started kissing his jaw line and down over his chest. Once I got to the bottom hem, I started to pull it up tentatively and looked back up at him. He nodded and sat halfway up, reaching his arms towards the sky without a word.

I pulled the shirt up over his head and threw it in the corner before reaching my own arms up. He followed my lead and pulled my sweatshirt over my head. I was only wearing a thin tank top underneath it. He slowly pulled the straps down, keeping his eyes on mine the entire time. I brought my lips to his as my tank top hit the floor.

He rolled me gently so he was positioned above me. His elbows bared most of his weight, but I could feel his body on mine. I reached for the button on his jeans as he hovered above me. My pajama pants slid off easily.

"I love you Edward." I closed my eyes as he kissed my neck and down the middle of my chest, stopping right below my belly button. He looked up at me from under his incredibly long eyelashes. His eyes were so tender and loving, but so full of lust and desire at the same time. It ignited a fire deep in my stomach. I grabbed his hair and gently but forcefully pulled his face up to mine. I held his chin there with one hand while the other slid down my body, taking off the last bit of clothing left on me. When he realized what I was doing, he did the same but his eyes left mine. Ever. I reached my hand blindly behind me and pulled the plug on the lights, leaving the radio on.

Edward's body in the moonlight was breathtaking. He kissed me tenderly once more before pulling another blanket up, enveloping us in darkness.

I woke up early the next morning as the sun streaked through the window. I was draped across Edward's chest, smiling as I rose and fell with his breaths. I was still in ecstasy over last night. I turned my face to his and watched him sleep for another twenty minutes. He looked so peaceful, so at ease, so….sexy. I pulled myself up and kissed his chin and then his lips.

"Mmmm…what a lovely alarm clock." He smiled but didn't open his eyes.

I kissed him again and he pulled me closer.

"Time to get up sleepy head."

"But I'm so tired." He still kept his eyes closed. "_Someone _kept me up all night long."

I laughed and leaned in, putting my lips close to his ear.

"If you get up I'll cook you breakfast…." I watched him closely. His eyes didn't even flutter.

"…..naked." He peeped one eye open.

"That's my boy. No really we have to get up and get back inside before Charlie gets back." I slapped his chest and started to get up but he pulled me back down.

"Last night was amazing." He whispered into my ear.

"I know. More than that." I gave him a peck on the lips. "But if we ever want to have another one we have to get up because Charlie will kill us if he finds us up here like this." I motioned around to the smattering of clothes around the loft.

Edward sat up and looked around. "Right….good plan."

We stood up and started getting dressed. He took down the lights from the rafters and I returned the radio to its original spot. We didn't want to leave any evidence that we were up here. I made my way down the ladder and stood at the bottom, waiting for Edward. He almost made it the entire way down, but he missed a step and plummeted the few feet to the ground, landing directly in a huge mud puddle.

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing, practically doubling over and falling to the ground. It was everywhere. On his pants, his shirt, his face, in his hair. He just sat there, shocked as to what just happened. Once I regained my composure I held my hand out to him and started to pull him up.

"And I thought I was the clumsy one."

He arched an eyebrow at me. "Oh really?"

Before I knew it I was no longer pulling Edward up, he was pulling me down into the mud puddle with him. It was everywhere. On my pants, my shirt, my face, in my hair. We wrestled around in the mud for a few minutes before I finally got away from him.

He took off his shirt as we entered the house and I grabbed some ratty towels from under the sink. He walked over and started washing his hands off. I grabbed the sprayer and started scrubbing at his forearm, but my clumsiness finally reared its head. My finger slipped, which sent the sprayer flying up, which sent water spraying everywhere around the kitchen, including right in Edward's face.

I brought my hands up to my face. "Oh I'm sorry." I winced. I really wasn't sorry. I mean it wasn't like I meant to do it, but it was pretty funny.

"No you're not," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "But you will be."

He suddenly grabbed me around my waist, trapping me while he grabbed the sprayer and started spraying me with it. I screamed playfully as I became absolutely drenched. I attempted to wrestle it away from him for some payback. In the process we both fell on the floor laughing. During the struggle the water was spraying everywhere, mixing with the mud on our clothes. The kitchen started to look like we'd done some redecorating in the paint department. I heard Charlie's police cruiser pull up.

"Get up!" I said laughing. "We have to get out of here!"

He released the sprayer, still laughing as we crouched down and snuck under the window. We crept out the back door and settled ourselves under the window outside.

"Bella!" Charlie said as he opened the front door.

"Edward! Where are you guys?" He must be a step away from the kitchen.

"What the hell?" He muttered to himself. I could only imagine him stepping into the kitchen, admiring our new décor with a befuddled look on his face.

"Bella Marie Swan get your ass in here right now and clean this up!"

I covered my mouth to hold in a laugh while Edward held his finger over his mouth, shushing me.

"Bella!" His voice was right above us now.

"Bella I can hear you laughing. Now get in here and clean this up." I heard him walk away.

Edward and I both fell back in a burst of laughter. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time.

It took us an hour to clean the kitchen and another half hour to clean ourselves. There was mud in places I didn't think was possible in both places. I came back downstairs after changing my clothes, still smiling.

"So Bells," Charlie began as he sat in the newly cleaned kitchen. "You know the annual fair is going on. You should take Edward down there, I'm sure he'd enjoy it. And you used to love it so much when you were little."

I had totally forgot about the fair. It was my favorite thing growing up here. I heard Edward bound down the stairs behind me.

"Hey Edward what do you think about going to the fair?"

"A real fair?" His eyes seemed suspicious and curious at the same time.

"No dummy a fake one."

My dad laughed at that one.

"Yes a real fair. You know ferris wheels, rodeos, cotton candy…" I went up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Please…" I pouted my lips and whined.

"Okay sure, why not?" He bent down and gave me a kiss, then looked up to see if Charlie was ready to bite his head off. Charlie stopped briefly looking at us, then went back to reading his paper.

We drove to the fair. I let Edward drive the truck, teaching him how to drive a stick.

"I didn't know you could drive a stick?" He asked smiling at me.

"Oh you didn't figure that out last night?" I winked at him.

It took us twice the time to get to the fair as it usually would. Edward kept stalling out the engine, but by the end he was starting to get the hang of it. We spent the rest of the day riding the ferris wheel and the tilt a whirl. Edward bought me candy apple and he got some cotton candy, which I couldn't believe he'd never had before.

We came up on one of the games. It was a dollar to throw a baseball and knock over 3 pins. A lot tougher than it looks.

"I want to try," I said. Edward paid the carnie and I took my shot. Total disaster. I didn't even hit one of them. "Damn I wanted that cute puppy." I stalked off disappointed.

We walked through the animal stalls and I pointed out all the different ones to Edward. He wasn't too amused by the smell, but I think he enjoyed listening to me talk about them. I ran into a few people from school, but no one special.

The sun was starting to go down as we walked out of the last barn.

"Well I guess since the sun's going down we should get back." He checked his watch.

"Oh honey we're not going anywhere. The real fun starts when the sun goes down." I pulled on his jacket and made him follow me. Everyone knew that the Barn Afterdark was the place to be on fair nights. Jacob and his dad Billy came down here every night and set up a tent as a makeshift bar. There was dancing and karaoke and beer. It was a good time.

Jacob and Billy were just getting started when we came up on their tent. The sides were open and there were tons of lights inside. There was a small stage up at the front with a dance floor in front and a small bar to the left of the dance floor.

"Come on let's go talk to Jake," I said pulling Edward along.

"Jake!" I called to him. He looked up and smiled.

I ran and gave him another hug and Edward held out his hand for a high five or something that resembled a high five.

"So what you guys have your own secret handshake now?"

"Hey don't be jealous," Edward said. "This guy saved us last night. By the way Jake thanks for doing that."

"Yeah Jake thanks," I stretched up to kiss Edward. "You have _no idea_ how thankful I am."

"Okay I don't need to know details Bella!" Jake laughed as he gave us our mugs of beer.

"Looks like a pretty good turnout Jake." I said taking a sip.

"Yeah we've been busy every night so far, and this is the last one so it'll probably be packed. So Bella…are you going to grace us with a song?" He nodded to the microphone.

"Oh no Jake I don't think so."

"Bella you do karaoke?" Edward pulled back to look at me.

"Sometimes?" I answered.

"Sometimes?! Bella be serious. Edward she totally rocks it!" Jake said enthusiastically.

"Well I think I must hear that." Edward crossed his arms in a definite way. He nodded to Jake.

"Edward, I don't think…"

"Ladies and Gentlemen…we have a special treat for you tonight." Jake was at the microphone. "For one night and one night only, your own Bella Swan will be gracing us with a tune." There was a roar of applause and cheers from the large crowd that had gathered.

"I hate you," I mouthed to Jake.

He covered his heart tenderly and smiled as he walked off stage.

I stepped cautiously up on stage, not even knowing what I was singing. I can't believe I'm doing this. The lyrics suddenly flashed across the screen. _Sara Evans, A Real Fine Place to Start._ Seemed appropriate. I could handle this. I looked at Edward for encouragement and he put his fingers to his mouth and let out a whistle. The music started and I opened my mouth and started singing. I was still timid at first but by the time I got to the first chorus I was starting to get into it. Edward was looking at me with the largest grin in the world on his face. I took a bow as the song came to an end.

"Baby that was awesome!" Edward scooped me up into a large hug before kissing me.

"I told you," Jake said as he dried a mug with a rag.

"Hey I gotta go…get something for a minute will you be okay for a few?" Edward rubbed my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah go ahead." I wonder what he's getting?

I sat at the bar for a few more minutes with Jake before he ran in the back to get some more mugs. I felt a hand on my waist and I smiled.

"Where'd you run off to?" I said turning to kiss….definitely not Edward.

"What the hell James, get your hands off me!" I brushed his arms off forcefully.

"Aw Bella come on…I saw your little boyfriend run off." He put his hands back on my waist.

"James! Stop it! I don't belong to you anymore."

"What? You belong to him?!" He laughed. "Pathetic piece of trash." He started to walk away.

"Excuse me?" I took a step towards him.

"Oh not him sweetie…you." I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes. "Oh are you going to cry? Cry back to Daddy. Wah Wah Wah. You know you really are pathetic and by the looks of it you've turned into the whore I always thought you would." He leaned in close to my face. "So did you fuck him yet?"

My hand went back and slammed into his face, knocking him to the ground. That was harder than I'd ever hit Emmett. James looked up at me from the ground, holding his hand over his eye. Jake came back out with his stack full of empty mugs and froze when he saw the scene before him, me rubbing my hand and James on the ground. He smiled widely. "Nice," he said nodding his head.

Edward ran up behind James, carrying something behind his back.

"Bella, what the hell happened?" He scurried over to me.

"I hit him."

"Yeah I can see that, are you okay?" He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"He said." The tears were starting to flow. "He said I was a pathetic piece of trash."

Edward turned towards James and I could finally see what he was holding. It was the stuffed animal from before.

He leaned down so his face was within inches from James's.

"If you ever look, think, or so much as breathe in her direction ever again, you'll have me to deal with and I won't be as kind as she was." He growled and snapped forward. James started screaming like a little girl.

He turned back to me.

"Sorry it took so long babe, it took me six tries to win you this." He pulled the puppy from behind his back.

I started crying again, but they weren't sad tears. It was such a small thing, but it meant so much. He won me a stuffed animal. I took it and held it close.

"Thank you," I said as I kissed him.

"You ready to go home?"

"Yeah." I wrapped my arms around his waist as he led me out.

"See ya Jake," we both called over our backs.

Edward drove back, his skills had really improved. His hand only left mine to switch gears. I held my puppy close in my lap and smiled the whole way home. I was still smiling as we walked hand in hand into the house.

"So," Charlie started. "I hear it's been quite an eventful night." He threw me a bag of vegetables from the freezer and I draped it over my hand.

"Yeah I guess you could say that." He knew. He always knew….how did he always know?

"Billy called," he said answering my question. "And so did your mom."

_Crap. That can't be good._

"She said to call. No matter how late."

I picked up the phone reluctantly. Edward sat on the stool and pulled me down to sit on his lap.

"Hey mom."

"Bella you are in so much trouble."

"Yeah I know mom I'm sorry. I should have told you exactly where I was going."

"I don't care about that Bella." Wow that was harsh, Her daughter disappeared for a few days and she didn't even care where she was.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Spare me the sarcasm Bella, do you have any idea what the date is?"

"No."

"It's the 16th…which would make Tuesday the 18th…of June. "

I suddenly realized why she was so angry.

"Oh my God Mom I totally forgot."

"Yeah I would suggest you get your butt back here ASAP."

"Okay Mom, we'll..I mean I'll come right home..bye."

I hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Edward said giving me a little nudge.

"We're going home, go pack your stuff and meet me out in the car in 15 minutes."


	11. Stay Beautiful

**A/N: I'm dedicating this chapter to one of my besties Amanda, who also happens to be my biggest fan. I hope you kicked your midterm's ass and thank you for all your support : )**

**Edward**

I swiftly threw my stuff into my bag, said a quick goodbye to Charlie and started out towards the car. Bruskey was sitting outside the passenger side door.

"Hey buddy." I patted him on the head. He let out a whimper.

"I know, I know I'll miss you too." I bent down to his eye level. "I'll come back and visit again…hopefully. If Bella will still put up with me. Will you put in a good word for me?" He set his paw up on my arm.

Bella and Charlie stepped out on the porch and embraced. She broke the hug and ran down the stairs. "Bye Brusk!" I got in the car and waited for her. She gave Bruskey a quick pat on the head before getting in the car and backing out the driveway. I waited until we were on the highway to speak.

"So….what's on Tuesday?"

"What?" She seemed distracted.

"What's on Tuesday?"

"It's the umm..it's the Debutante Ball. I'm so sorry Edward I completely forgot. I have to go get my gown fitted tomorrow with Alice and Jasper's sister and then do the brunch and the ball on Tuesday."

"You know Rosalie?" Jasper's sister barely ever came home. She went to a boarding school upstate.

"Not really…she's just tagging along with Alice."

She seemed fidgety.

"Bella," I laughed. "Just spit it out whatever you want to say."

She tensed her hands around the steering wheel.

"Well. Emmett was supposed to be my escort. There's this whole "coming out" ceremony and then we get handed off to our escorts and we're the first ones to dance…and umm…well things...have changed obviously. And I know it's not really your thing, but I was kinda wondering if maybe you…wanted to be my escort." She spoke so fast I barely had time to process. Ceremony, escort, dance, lots of richy bitchy people.

"Bella…I don't…I don't know about that. I'm not really into that type of thing." I felt bad, but there was no way I was going to fit in with all those people.

She kept her eyes on the road.

"Oh…okay then. It's fine, no big deal." It was a big deal. I could tell she was disappointed.

"I'm sorry," I said as I placed my hand on her leg.

"No, no it's okay. Don't worry about it." She forced a smile.

We were silent the rest of the ride. I kept stealing glances at her but her eyes never left the road. She finally spoke as she pulled into her driveway.

"So…my mom's inside. But I was thinking, so people don't get suspicious, that you could maybe stay with me tonight and re-emerge tomorrow morning?"

We both knew nobody would be suspicious; she was just trying to get me to stay. She didn't need to come up with some story, I'd do almost anything she asked. Almost.

"Yeah I'll stay babe." I owed her since I refused to go to her little dance.

She finally smiled a genuine smile.

"Okay I'll run in and check on the situation with my mom. It looks like she's in bed already. I'll come back and get you in a minute just stay here."

She got out of the car and ran into her house. It looked relatively dark. She came out a few minutes later and motioned me inside. We crept quietly up the stairs and tiptoed past her mother's room into Bella's.

"I'm exhausted," she said as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Well then we better get you to bed." I scooped her up and pulled down the covers. I slid under them, keeping her curled on my chest.

"Goodnight." I kissed the top of her head.

"Night." She nestled into my body.

A few minutes later I felt her kissing up my neck and before I knew it she was to my lips.

"I thought you were tired," I said keeping my eyes closed.

"I'm not so tired anymore." She started pulling at my shirt, trying to get it off.

"Your mom is here."

"We'll be quiet, I promise."

"You quiet? HA!" She slapped my chest and then brought her lips up to my ear.

"We'll be really…really quiet." I felt her teeth gently pull on my earlobe and I knew there was no way I could resist her anymore.

I woke up the next morning alone, but I could hear Bella and her mom down in the kitchen.

"So it sounds like you and Emmett are getting along pretty well…" Her mom obviously didn't know about their breakup, and she obviously didn't know about me.

"Why do you say that Mom?"

I heard her mom laugh.

"Oh please sweetie. I'm sure even the neighbors probably heard you last night. Poor Elizabeth and Edward."

I heard Bella choke on whatever she was eating. I laughed silently to myself. _Way to be really...really quiet Bella._

Ten minutes later Bella crept back into the room.

"Poor Edward…poor poor Edward," I mimicked her mom's voice.

"Yeah if he doesn't watch it he will be sorry." She laughed and plopped herself down on the bed.

"So," she started. "What are you doing today?" Her fingers started wandering idly on my bare chest.

"Ummm..nothing." I was afraid of where this was going.

"Good then you can go shopping with us!" She jumped up excitedly.

"Oh no no no!" I held my hands up. "I wear leather jackets, and smoke cigarettes, and swear like a fucking sailor. I do not, repeat do not shop under any circumstances."

"Come on baby please…" She did that irresistible pouty thing with her lips. "Please."

I sighed.

"Jasper's going."

I tapped my finger against my temple.

"I will go under one condition."

She smiled big.

"Bella one condition. I get to bail at any point if I can't take it anymore."

"Okay fine, fine. Now go get changed and drop your stuff out, they'll be here soon."

I climbed out of bed and across the tree, preparing myself for a day of girl talk, dressing rooms, and gagging.

Bella was knocking on my bedroom door a half hour later.

"Are you ready, they're here."

"Wait how did you get in here?" We had always used the window before.

"Your mom let me in." Oh right, _that_ made perfect sense. Ha.

She grabbed my hand and we started out the door. Jasper was driving his car with Alice in the shotgun spot. I guessed Rosalie was sitting in the backseat. Jasper got out and pulled the seat up on his little two-door car so Bella and I could slip into the back.

"Hello Rosalie."

"Edward." God she was such a bitch. So different from Jazz, but she sure wasn't bad to look at. Her golden hair went all the way down to her waist and had a natural wave to it. Her big honey colored eyes perfectly complemented her porcelain skin. She looked like a doll, too perfect.

"Oh Edward how I've missed you these past couple days…" Jasper said sarcastically.

"You too sweet cheeks." I blew a kiss his way.

Alice and Bella were staring at each other; they must have been having a silent conversation. By the looks of it Alice was motioning to our intertwined hands. I had a feeling she didn't know I was coming today and she probably didn't know I was with Bella the last few days. Well she knew now. Suddenly Alice snapped out of it and starting jabbing on about stupid stuff. Her jabbering lasted the whole ride; no one else could get a word in.

"I'm going to have a quick smoke before the madness begins," I said to Bella as she headed inside. She nodded and continued through the door. I was going to need all the nicotine I could get to last through the day. I lit my cigarette and leaned back against the wall. Someone placed their hand on my chest, but it wasn't who I would have expected.

"Rosalie what the hell are you doing?" I swatted her hand away, but she just moved closer, pressing her body against mine.

"Now Edward that isn't very nice…don't you miss me?" She brought her lips up to my ear.

"Rosalie we're not doing this." I pushed her away.

"Come on…it's been so long. Just sneak into my dressing room, no one will know.

"I would know. And I won't do that to Bella."

"Won't do that to Bella?" She looked amazed. "That girl has changed you and you don't even realize it. The old Edward would have been up for a good fuck anytime, now you're the epitome of virtue." Her look of amazement turned to disgust. "Pity," she whispered as she slipped back inside.

I took another drag on my cigarette. This day was turning to shit already, and if I wasn't sure of it then, I was when I saw Emmett making his way into the store.

"So big brother…are you here with Rosalie. Nice catch bud she's fine." He slapped my chest too hard and plastered an annoyingly fake smile on his face.

"No." I turned towards him. "I'm with Bella," I said confidently.

He stopped and turned back towards me.

"Not for long you aren't." He smirked and walked inside.

I flicked my cigarette down, deciding that the day couldn't get much worse than this.

"Bella?"

"Yeah Edward I'm in here. You can take a seat outside if you want."

I walked into a small room with mirrors plastered all along one wall. There were several little platforms in front of the mirrors and chairs along the other wall. Bella's voice came from behind one of the many curtains which I guessed were the dressing rooms. I sat down in the chair next to Jasper.

"Jazz…what would ever possess you to do this?"

He was flipping through an issue of Cosmopolitan.

"Love makes you do strange, strange things buddy."

"You can say that again. I just passed up a quickie with Rosalie."

"Dude I know my sister is a slut and I know you were screwing her, but I don't want to know these things." He stopped on an article titled "50 Ways to Please Your Man" and started reading.

"Sorry." I held my hands up in surrender. "What are you _doing_?" My eyes shifted down to the magazine.

"Research."

"On how to please your man? Sorry baby I don't think you can learn to please me from a magazine."

He laughed. "Not for you sugar lips, for me and Alice."

"ALICE IS A MAN?!" A sarcastic shocked look spread across my face.

He leaned in.

"Not that I'm into discussing my sex life with you..but I can tell you. Alice is _all _woman."

"Okay this conversation is officially over."

I glanced back towards Bella's curtain. There was a slight opening on the side and I could almost see in. She was standing there appraising herself in the mirror. She had on a black strapless bra and matching black panties and damn she looked good. I tipped my chair to the side to get a better look.

"And you really had to ask why I come here?" Jasper laughed as I almost fell out of the chair.

I ignored him, keeping my eyes on Bella. She unsnapped her bra and it fell to the ground. She reached for her gown. All I could see was white as she pulled it over her head and zipped up the side. She pulled the straps up over her newly tanned shoulders and the contrast between her skin and the dress was breathtaking. After giving herself one more look in the mirror she turned. I quickly planted my chair back on all fours as she emerged. My breathing halted and I'm pretty sure my mouth was gaping open. Jasper had stopped flipping through his magazine and I could see his eyes peeping over the top of it. Keeping my eyes on Bella, I slapped his chest. He cleared his throat and went back to his magazine.

"That good?" She said doing a slow turn.

"Umm yeah. More than good." I stood up walked closer to her. She looked beautiful. Her dress was loose and flowing from below her chest down. As she turned I saw the wide straps went all the way down her backless dress and met down by the dimples on the small of her back. She looked like a Greek Goddess in the flesh.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and whispered into her ear. "You look delectable…sexy…stunning…fucking gorgeous." She smiled and I could feel the heat rushing up to her cheeks. She was blushing. I smiled and placed a kiss on her neck before backing up and taking my seat again. I brought my hand up to my chin, absolutely in awe of the beautiful woman in front of me. She giggled a little and stepped up on one of the small platforms. Pretty soon Alice and Rosalie had emerged from their curtains and were on their own little platforms. The next ten minutes were a flurry of "Oh you look beautiful", "Oh I love your dress", "Oh I look terrible", "Does this make me look fat?", blah, blah, blah. After they had convinced each other that they were going to be the most beautiful Debs ever they all receded back into their dressing rooms. I kept my eyes on Bella as she walked back. I barely even noticed Rosalie licking her lips at me. _Man she really is desperate. Too bad for her I'm a one-woman man now._ I chuckled to myself.

"Hey Edward!" Bella peeked her head out the curtain. "I need your help, my zipper is stuck." I could see her fidgeting with her side.

I got up and entered her little cubicle. My big hands were shit trying to unstick her zipper but I finally got it worked down. I brushed my fingers slowly down her bare side and slipped my hand down her back.

I leaned in closer. "God Bella do you have to be so sexy all the time?"

She turned towards me smiling and let her dress fall to the floor.

"What are you trying to do to me?" I whined.

She came closer and started kissing my neck.

"Definitely not here. If your mom could hear us in the other room, then they can definitely hear us now."

"Bella, Edward stop playing and get out here, we're ready to go!" Alice was the most impatient person I'd ever met.

"One minute Alice," Bella said against my skin. "My zipper got stuck."

"Okay we'll wait outside while your "unsticking your zipper." Her voice was dripping in sarcasm.

"There see. Now there's no one to hear." She started reaching for the button on my pants.

Ten minutes later her zipper was definitely unstuck and we headed out of the room. I carried her large garment bag for her in one arm and had the other around her waist.

Jasper and Alice were in the car, probably talking about Jasper's research but Rosalie was nowhere to be found.

"Alice where's Rosalie?" Bella asked.

"Oh she was waiting inside."

Bella took the garment bag from me as she slipped in the backseat.

"Babe can you go get her please."

This was not a good idea.

"Yeah sure."

I stalked back inside but Rosalie was nowhere to be found. I heard some noises coming from behind the door labeled Storage and by the nature of the sounds I figured it must be Rosalie. I parked myself a few feet away from the door waiting for her and whoever she cornered in there to finish. A minute later her victim emerged. Emmett was grinning from ear to ear while he zipped his fly back up. _Hmm,_ I thought. _The perfect couple. _Rosalie came out a minute later.

"That coulda been you sugar." She continued out the door, totally unphased that she'd just screwed Emmett in the storage closet of a dress shop.

I followed her out and jumped in the backseat. Apparently I was bitch because I had to ride the whole way home sitting in between Bella and Rosalie. Not a good fucking time. Awkward didn't even begin to describe it.

We waved to them as they pulled out the driveway, but Bella stopped me before I went into my house.

"So I have a surprise for you tonight. And you're obligated to come since you refuse to show your face tomorrow."

"Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise?"

"Very…very good surprise."

"Well in that case I'm there. Where do I meet you?"

"Just come to my place about 8."

"What about your mom?"

"She's staying down at the hotel tonight, setting up for tomorrow."

_Phew, at least we wouldn't have an audience tonight._

I kissed her goodbye and went back into my house where my mom was cooking dinner.

"Hey sweetie."

"Hello mother dearest." I kissed her on the cheek. I don't care how much of a badass I am, I will admit that I'm a Momma's Boy. I took my coat off and sat on the barstool.

"Here taste this," my mom brought over a spoonful of what looked like spaghetti sauce.

It was delicious. My mom is an amazing cook. And I know most kids say that about their moms, but it's true. Amazing.

"Tastes great."

"So," she continued while she stirred. "Was that Bella Swan I saw you with outside?"

"So what if it was?" I said keeping my eyes on the countertop.

"If it was…then I'd say good for you, she seems like a good girl. Maybe she'll be a good influence on you."

"Yeah maybe." I laughed.

We ate dinner together at the table, laughing and talking. She didn't mention Bella again.

I sat in my room watching the clock tick slowly towards 8. At 7:58 I started to make my way across the tree. Bella wasn't in her room, but there was a note, a pile of strange looking clothes, and a large backpack sitting on her bed.

I opened the letter feeling utterly confused.

_Edward, _

_Put these clothes and backpack on and head downstairs. Don't forget the boots by the door._

_B_

I looked towards her door and sure enough there were hiking boots sitting there. _Where the fuck were we going hiking around here? Bloomingdales?_

Regardless of my confusion, I did what she said but peeked in the backpack before slinging it over my shoulders. A flashlight, a canteen, and matches.

I opened her door and it was completely dark inside the entire house.

"Bella?"

"Come find me!" She called from somewhere downstairs.

"How am I supposed to find you if I can't see you?"

"Use your imagination."

I thought about it for a second before it dawned on me. The flashlight.

I made my way downstairs, scanning the light across the house. When I landed in her living room, I blinked a few times wondering if I was really seeing what I was seeing. There was a full sized tent set up in her living room. She had moved some of the decorative trees from around the house into the immediate area.

"Marco?"

"Polo!" She called. She was inside the tent.

I slowly unzipped the door to the tent and flashed the light inside. She was lounged on her side across a couple sleeping bags with her head resting on her arm.

"You found me," she said smiling.

"What is all this?"

She crawled over to me as I entered the tent.

"Well," she started as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "Since we had to cut our vacation a little short I never got to take you camping. So we're going camping."

"In your living room?"

"In my living room."

I couldn't believe she set all this up for me. I spent the next ten minutes thanking her thoroughly for her hard work. We emerged from the tent and she turned on the lantern that was sitting outside the tent.

"So get out the rest of your supplies." She said as she took a seat on the ground.

I pulled out the matches and the canteen.

"That's for the fire….and that's for fun," she said pointing to the matches and the canteen respectively.

I understood that matches made fire, but how did a canteen make fun.

"Open it."

I twisted the cap and as soon as I did the smell of whiskey radiated into my nose.

"Good girl," I said smiling as I recapped the canteen.

"So you wanna light the fire?" She motioned to the fireplace next to her that I hadn't noticed before. There was already some wood and paper in it, so it caught fire easy enough.

"Good thing we have a fire, it's freezing in here."

"Oh I turned off the heat. I wanted you to have an authentic experience."

"Oh thanks."

"You are very welcome," she said as she reached behind the tent.

She brought out two long sticks and a bag full of graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows.

"What are those for?"

"Smores."

"What's a smore?"

"You've never had a smore?! What's wrong with you?" She said opening up the bag of marshmallows.

"City boy." I said pointing both of my fingers at me.

"Well let me tell you, you are missing out."

She stuck a marshmallow on a stick and handed it to me, instructing me to warm it over the fire. She said it was best to go for the embers because it heated it slow.

"Patience is the key," she said as she slowly rotated her stick over the fire.

Mine caught fire and burnt to a crisp three times before she offered to do mine. When she decided it was done, she asked me to grab a piece of chocolate and graham cracker.

"Okay now break the cracker in half and put the chocolate on one side, like you're making a sandwich."

After I'd followed her instructions she brought the marshmallow out of the fire and placed it gently on the chocolate. As she pushed it off the stick, it began to stick to her fingers and melt into the chocolate. She brought her fingers up to her lips and licked the excess marshmallow off. So sexy.

"Okay so put the other part of the cracker on top and push down." I did and the marshmallow oozed a little more.

"Okay now take a bite."

I bit into the smore and pulled back, tasting a perfect combination of cracker, chocolate, and sugar. A line of marshmallow remained from my mouth back down to the rest of the smore and I could feel the stickiness all over my face.

"Pretty messy, but pretty fucking good." It was pretty good, pretty damn good. I inhaled the rest as Bella watched.

"I'm glad you like it," she smiled. She fell forward on her hands until she was on all fours.

"You got it all over you," she said inching forward. "Let me help you." She slowly brought her lips to my mouth and gave me a long, deep kiss before dragging her tongue across my face, licking up any remaining marshmallow.

"Okay my turn," she said when she'd finished. I watched her as she placed another marshmallow on the stick and cooked it slowly over the fire. To my surprise she didn't seem to be making hers into a sandwich. She set down the stick, with the marshmallow still cooking and lifted her shirt over her head. Instead of placing the marshmallow on the graham cracker she placed it on her chest, just above where her cleavage met. She broke off a piece of chocolate and placed it in the middle of the melting marshmallow and pushed it down into it. I licked my lips as she crumbled up a little graham cracker and sprinkled it over the concoction.

I couldn't move. She looked absolutely scorching hot. The firelight played beautifully off her tanned skin and created shadows in all the right places. I felt myself sigh deeply.

She smiled at me seductively. "It's getting cold." She shook her hair back and stuck her chest slightly out.

I leaned in and took the mixture in my mouth, allowing my tongue to trace all the way up to her jaw and to her ear.

"I've decided that I really…really like camping," I whispered.

"I knew you would."

_Yep, camping was now my new favorite pastime._

**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews and your support. I loooove you guys. Reviews make me feel better than dressing room escapades with Edward. XOXO**


	12. I'll Be Your Lover Too

**Bella**

My alarm woke m up at exactly 7:35 am. I reached my hand out blindly to hit the snooze button. I had to be at the hotel at 9 for orientation, but I couldn't pull myself out of bed…or sleeping bag. Part of the reason was I was still exhausted and part was because of the angel lying next to me. My alarm didn't wake him and I didn't want to make him get up so I left him there as I crawled out of the tent to shower. When I came back twenty minutes later he was still sleeping. I paused to stare at him. The morning sun was streaming through the window into the tent and hitting his face in such a way that he looked like a Greek God sunning himself in Athens.

I grabbed my clothes and my toiletries out of my bedroom and headed towards the bathroom. I let my hair dry wavy, flipping my head upside down as I blow-dried it. I kept my makeup simple and natural. My mom told me I had to wear a sundress today. "You need to look like a lady…" she has scolded when I suggested wearing my sweatpants. I slipped the red silk baby doll dress over my head and adjusted it over my body. Before I left the bathroom I spritzed myself with some flowery perfume and added some natural looking lip-gloss.

And he was still sleeping by the time I was all finished getting ready. I debated on whether or not I should wake him up, he looked so peaceful. I decided I would leave him sleeping for the morning and he could let himself out. I left him a note on the kitchen counter, telling him to help himself to some breakfast before he left.

I kissed him on the cheek and headed out. My watch read 8:59 as I strolled into the main lobby.

"Never too early are we Isabella." Ugh. Mrs. Hamilton. She was such a stuck up bitch. She was the head chairwoman of the whole event and would be hosting the ball tonight. Her features were sharp which was accentuated by how she styled her hair. It was pulled back tightly into a bun and was jet black. Like her soul.

"Shoo shoo now. Take your seat please." She placed her hand on my back and ushered me into the large ballroom. There were several round tables set up, most full with gabbing girls. _Welcome to hell_. Alice stood up and flagged me down. I sat between her and Jessica Stanley, another girl from school. Rosalie was on the other side of Alice.

Mrs. Hamilton stepped up to the podium and tapped on the microphone.

"Hello?" _Tap,tap,tap._ "Is this thing working?...Yes?...okay great." She smiled a nauseating fake smile.

"Good morning ladies. I am just so so excited for the festivities today. We will be having a few guest speakers this morning before brunch is served. Please remember to conduct yourselves in a lady like manner, you are all debutantes. And tonight is the big show. Please be ready to line up at 7:45 p.m. sharp and make sure your escorts and dressed and ready by that time as well." I winced when I heard the word escort. I didn't know who Emmett was going with now, not that I'd even consider going with him. Edward refused to go. Maybe I'll just escort myself. I mean that'd get me out of that embarrassing dance display since I obviously can't dance with myself. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

I sat tearing holes in the tablecloth during all the guest speakers. From what I could tell they were all past Debs and they droned on about how special of an event it was and how it's going to be the best night of our lives. _Bullshit. _The only reason I was doing this was to make my mom happy. She was a Deb when she was my age and it was her dream to see me as one.

After all the speakers they served us brunch, which I was excited about because I was starving. As I placed the huge piece of French toast in my mouth I found myself zoning out on Edward. I wonder what he ate this morning, or what he was doing right now. I wished he was here with me more than anything, maybe this would be more bearable.

"So Bella," Rosalie started. "You and Edward are…together?" Something about the way she asked her question irked me, but I smiled nevertheless.

"Yes we are."

"Lucky girl." I eyed her suspiciously. What was she trying to get at?

Alice cleared her throat. "So will Edward be escorting you tonight?" She smiled, breaking Rosalie and my stare down.

"Umm. No, he's busy." I looked down at my plate, hoping my disappointment wouldn't show.

"Too bad." Rosalie said with a smirk. I was just about to ask her what the hell her problem was when the waiters came to remove our plates.

Alice grabbed my arm before I got another chance. "Give me a ride home? Good." She didn't even give me a chance to respond.

I didn't start the car when we got inside.

"Alice what do you know?"

I stared straight ahead at the steering wheel.

"Bella I don't know what you're talking about."

"Alice," I said with a little more fire. "I love you but don't bullshit me, I know that you know something now tell me."

She fidgeted nervously with her hands.

"It's about Rosalie and Edward."

I didn't say anything.

"They used to…like have a thing."

"A thing? What they were like dating?"

"Not exactly."

I knew what that meant.

"How long ago?"

"Maybe 8 months ago, when she was on break for school….Bella they stopped all that before she went back to school and from what I know from Jasper they haven't even talked to each other since then."

I put my head in my hands, the tears starting to well up. "God I'm so stupid."

"Bella don't be ridiculous. Anyone who's seen you two together can see the obvious. He's in love with you Bella. Head over heels."

I shook my head. "Rosalie is perfect. She's like a Barbie doll. I can't…I can't compare to her." My mind flashed back to everything Edward and I have gone through together and how inferior I must have been to Rosalie. It was nauseating and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Scoot over I'll drive." Alice pulled herself over into the driver's seat as I scooted over to the passengers. We didn't speak on the way home, which was good for me. I felt like I might burst into tears if I tried to utter a single word.

Alice called Jasper for a ride. She waited down in the living room while I walked like a zombie up to my room. I knew this was too damn good to last. I must just be a replacement since he couldn't have Rosalie, because there was no way anyone in their right mind would chose me over her. I had three hours before I had to be at the hotel, I should really start soon. Who knows how long it'll take me to look up to Debutante Standards. I heard Jasper's car pull up and pause before pulling away again.

I didn't realize how much time had passed as I sat and wallowed in my misfortunes until my phone rang. _Edward. _

"Hey," I said. I didn't even attempt enthusiasm.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. I'm just exhausted, I spent the entire day with a room full of Debs." I lied to him. I can't believe I was lying to him but I couldn't talk about it now.

"Ouch. That must have been mildly irritating."

"Much more than mildly," I said flatly.

"Bella why can't you talk to me? I know something's wrong."

"I'm sorry Edward…it's just. It's a little embarrassing."

"You're embarrassed to talk about something with me?"

"Yeah." I shuffled my feet.

"Well give me a hint."

"Ummm…"

"Is it about something you did?"

"No."

"Is it about something I did?" He sounded a little panicked.

"Eh…not…something…."

There was a long pause. I could hear his breathing increase and then slow back down after a few minutes.

"Did you talk to Rosalie?"

"No I talked to Alice."

"Ahhh Alice."

"Edward were you in love with her?" I hated feeling this vulnerable and just…not good enough.

"No. Never…. Bella I was a different person back then. I don't even recognize that person anymore. Rosalie doesn't even have a hundredth of the appeal you have for me. No one draws me in like you, always remember that."

"Yeah. Umm Edward I have to go, I have to go get ready. I can't be late."

"Okay. Um. Try to have fun okay? Love you babe."

"Yeah. You too." I hung up the phone and sat down on the bed. I wanted to believe him. I needed to believe him. It was just so hard to believe. And it wasn't that I thought he was lying, but taking one look at Rosalie and one look at me made me so self-conscious. I tried my best to push all my insecure thoughts to the back of my mind because I really did need to get ready. I changed into a button down t-shirt so I could do my hair and change without messing it up. I opted for something simple, I wasn't in the mood for anything intricate or too complicated. It was too much effort. As I was pinning my hair back, I couldn't keep my thoughts away. He said he loved me. He really, really loves me. Looks aren't everything. Obviously there was some reason he never took it to the next level with Rosalie like he did with me. And I really, truly did love him. I loved him so much. I was suddenly even sadder that he wasn't going to be here tonight. I needed him to be there. I put the last pin in my hair and stepped back to observe. Not too shabby. My hair was all loosely pinned into a messy bun that was positioned slightly to the side. I pulled a few strands loose to hang around my face. Very relaxed, very simple, very romantic and soft.

I decided to go slightly more dramatic with my makeup for the night. I did heavy black eyeliner on my upper lid and a deep red lip. I didn't dress up like this all the time, but it definitely made me feel sexy. Too bad Edward wouldn't see me now, cause I definitely feel like I could take on Rosalie looking like this. I heard my mom come in the front door.

"Bella!"

"Yeah Mom I'm up here!"

I swept my finger across my lips, blending the color a little bit.

"Oh sweetie you look beautiful! Do you need help getting into your dress?"

"Yeah that'd be great Mom, thanks. I wouldn't want to get stuff all over it."

She held the dress over my head and dropped it slowly, making sure to keep it away from my face.

"This damn zipper. Always getting stuck." She kept fidgeting with it. The image brought me back in the dressing room with Edward and I smiled.

"There," she said as she slid the zipper up. "Okay I'm gonna go downstairs and gather up my stuff and then head over." She disappeared downstairs.

I looked myself over in the mirror, adjusting minor things here and there. Alice and Jasper would be here soon. They'd probably be toting that slut Rosalie too. It would take a lot of strength tonight not to pull out her trailer trash hair extensions.

I heard the doorbell ring as I was slipping my shoes on.

"I got it!" My mom called. I heard the door open and an exchange of voices. I couldn't quite tell who it was, but whoever it was it was definitely a he. Maybe Jasper and Alice were early?

I didn't hear my mom creep back into my room.

"Bella there is a young man downstairs waiting for you, and let me say he sure cleans up good."

My spirits suddenly lifted and I felt a little hope. He'd changed his mind about tonight. I could skip out of my room fast enough. As I made my way quickly but carefully down the stairs I was trying to imagine how sexy he would look dressed up. I'd never seen him in anything except his leather jacket…and in nothing of course. I turned the corner, highly anticipating the sight I was about to see. My face fell when I saw who my gentlemen caller was.

"Emmett what are you doing here?" I crossed my arms in a defensive pose.

"Wow Bells you looks beautiful."

"Thank you." There was no need to be rude to him, but I certainly wasn't allowing him to be my escort. No way in hell.

"Emmett we're not going to the ball together. I thought that would have been pretty obvious."

"Well I..I just didn't want you to be alone. We can go as friends, nothing funny I promise."

"I don't think so Emmett. You should really go Alice and Jasper will be here to pick me up soon."

"I called them, they aren't coming."

"You did what?"

"I told them I'd pick you up." He smiled at me. Man he was really trying to be charming, but he just came off as a cocky prick.

I contemplated for a second. There was no way I was driving in these heels. Alice and Jasper were probably already there. My mom had just left five minutes ago. I had no other choice.

"Fine. I will accept your offer for a ride, but nothing else." I held up a finger. "Nothing."

"Fine."

The car ride to the hotel wasn't as awkward as I was expecting. Emmett asked what I'd been up to the past few days, and where I'd disappeared to. I told him the truth. I just left Edward out of it.

When we got to the hotel Mrs. Hamilton was in a frantic tizzy. I said a quick thank you and goodbye to Emmett as I entered the back dressing room. Thank goodness only Debs and staff were allowed back here. I was there at 7:45, not a minute earlier than I had to be. I was the last Deb to go, so I stood in the back of the line as we were marched backstage. I found myself hoping that he would magically show up last minute.

Mrs. Hamilton started the ceremony and began introducing the Debs.

"Miss Rosalie Hale…escorted by Michael Newton." I laughed. Mike was a nice guy, but Rosalie looked absolutely mortified to be making her debut with him. She must have gotten stuck with him last minute. Mrs. Hamilton continued down the list Jessica and Eric, Angela and Ben, Alice and Jasper. I kind of felt a little weird with no escort. I felt my last ounce of hope for an Edward cameo die as my name was called.

"And our last Debutante Miss Isabella Swan….escorted this evening by her father Charlie Swan." I was in shock. I had no idea Charlie was coming. I fought back the tears of joy as my dad took my arm and escorted me on to the dance floor.

"Edward called me," he whispered into my ear as the music began. "Don't be too mad at him Bells, these Debs are a lot to take in. I didn't know if I would be able to handle it….He didn't want you to be alone."

"Thanks for coming Dad. It means everything to me." I snuggled closer to him as the song ended. I noticed my mom leaning against the wall with her mouth gaping. I take it she didn't know that my dad was coming here. She had probably assumed since Emmett showed up at our house that he was my escort.

I tried my best to avoid her for the next hour. I didn't want to deal with her nagging and interrogations. Charlie chatted with a few old friends. He seemed comfortable enough. Well comfortable as could be expected in room full of eccentric women.

Alice and Jasper pulled me onto the dance floor.

"Bella I'm so sorry about the whole Emmett thing, I didn't even know about it until we were driving past your driveway instead of pulling into it."

"It's okay Alice I forgive you." The DJ ended the song and started addressing the audience.

"How's everybody doing tonight?!" The crowd erupted in applause. I didn't have time to react as my mother spun my shoulder around. She stood with an agitated look on her face, not speaking, just staring.

The DJ continued. "We have a really special treat for you tonight guys…."

My mother finally spoke. "Number 1, what the hell is your father doing here?"

"…..a local guy, his first public appearance. Give him some support." The DJ continued on as the crowd gave another round of applause.

"Bella did you and Emmett break up? Are you having problems?"

I didn't want to hide it anymore from her. My dad knew. Alice knew. What was the point in not telling her?

"Mom it's complicated but just hear me out. I dumped Emmett. I'm actually seeing-"

"Edward?" I followed her gaze to the stage. There he was. Edward was sitting on a stool in the middle of the stage, tuning a guitar and pulling the microphone closer to him. I couldn't believe he was here, let alone up on the stage.

He squinted into the lights. "I'd like to dedicate this song to Bella Swan," he said softly into the microphone. Then he began playing. It was a soft, slow song. He closed his eyes as he strummed along on his guitar. I didn't even know he played guitar. For a moment the whole world disappeared and there was nobody but me and him.

"Bella what is he talking about?" I could hear my mother but it didn't matter. I just kept walking slowly towards the stage.

Edward finally opened his mouth and started singing softly. His voice was more than I could have ever imagined. So deep and full of emotion that I felt a single tear run down my cheek. I brought my hand to my mouth in shock. His eyes finally locked on mine and they never left. He smiled a little as he continued his serenade. I could feel everyone looking at him, looking at me, looking at us, but I didn't care. I just didn't care anymore. All that mattered was me and him. I finally stopped a few feet in front of him, right in front of the center of the stage. There was a slight incline up to where he was so I stood on the floor, watching mesmerized by him. He closed his eyes again as he strummed his last chord and a small crooked smile spread across his face.

Jasper and Alice were to the side of me, just to the side of the stage.

"I taught him all he knows," Jasper whispered quietly to Alice. She elbowed him in the ribs not so quietly.

Then Edward knelt down so his face met mine.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he gently pressed his lips to mine.


	13. Better than Me

**A/N: Hey guys sorry the updates have been a little farther apart. I just got a new job so I've been kinda busy with that, so thanks for being patient : )**

Edward

I've never been more scared or excited in my life. Jasper and my mom are the only people who've ever heard me play before, but for some reason she inspired me. I was sitting at home by myself and all I could think about was her alone at the ball. My fingers strummed lightly against my guitar strings as my mind drifted. What the hell was I thinking? Why didn't I go with her? I knew right then and there I had to do something drastic to make it up to her. And boy was this drastic.

I pulled Bella closer to me on the dance floor. No one else was dancing. They were all staring at us, but I didn't care. If they didn't know about us, they sure as fuck knew now. I kind of felt relieved, like a huge weight got taken off my shoulders. No more sneaking around or lying. Her mom kept sending me evil glares from across the room. I was pretty sure she wasn't too happy that it was me and not Emmett with his arms wrapped around her daughter.

Bella closed her eyes and pressed her head into my chest. I nuzzled into her hair. It smelled amazing like always. I pulled back and placed my hand under her chin, lifting her eyes up to meet mine.

"In case I haven't already told you, you look absolutely fucking gorgeous."

She smiled and pressed her lips to mine. "Thanks baby."

I felt a tap on my shoulder. Mommy dearest in attack mode, not good.

She ushered both of us off the dance floor.

"How long has this been going on Bella?" She was practically shouting.

I placed my body slightly between Bella and her mother; it was like second nature to me to want to protect her.

"Renee there's no need to yell," I said very calmly.

"Excuse me Edward," she said sarcastically. "But I think I have a right to know what's going on with my daughter."

"Mom I'm sorry," Bella said peeking her head around my shoulder. "It's just, it kind of all happened so fast. And we weren't really sure what this was yet." She lovingly squeezed my shoulder. "But I'm sure now. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I love Edward and he loves me and we're together now."

"Like hell you are!" Renee was shouting again.

"Renee with all do respect, you can't stop us from being together. I would do anything for Bella and I love her unconditionally." I was surprised I was being as calm as I was. In any other situation I would have gone off on someone talking to me like that. But not now, not with Bella. I want to do everything I can to do this right.

Charlie stepped in between us.

"Now Renee just relax, Edward is a good kid and he cares for Bella. He's good for her." Charlie is now my new favorite person. It meant a lot to me that he was sticking up for us, especially since I thought he still hated me.

"How do you know about this and I don't?" Renee turned towards Charlie. After a moment she put two and two together and she whipped back towards Bella.

"You took him to Charlie's with you, didn't you?!"

I looked back at Bella. Her face turned red and the tears were starting to stream down her face. I could feel everyone's eyes on us, they'd probably heard every word.

I placed my hands on either side of Bella's face, trying to comfort her.

"Come on babe don't cry, it's okay." I kissed her forehead. Her silent tears were turning into sobs.

"Oh please Bella don't pull out the crying card now." Her mom was really starting to piss me off. _Just leave Edward, don't do anything stupid. _

I leaned down and brought my lips close to Bella's ear.

"Come on let's get out of here. We'll go somewhere, just us."

She didn't say a word, just slowly nodded her head.

I took her hand and we started to walk out the door.

"Bella you are not leaving with him. I forbid it!" I was surprised Renee wasn't chasing after us. I looked back to see Charlie holding onto Renee's arm.

"Just let them go Renee, you need to calm down." She looked back at him long enough for us to slip out the door. I didn't look back again. We made it to my car in the parking lot before I said another word. We just sat in the parking lot for several minutes, while her crying calmed down.

"I'm so sorry about my mom Edward, I'm completely mortified." She turned towards me. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was tear stained.

"Hey don't worry about it." I caressed her cheek and smiled at her.

She managed a smile back before letting out a huge sigh. I felt bad for causing all this trouble between her and her mother.

"Crap I left my jacket and my purse at the check in!"

"I can go get it, you just stay put." I didn't want her to have a run in with her mom, she might just lock her in a room somewhere.

I ran back to the front desk and grabbed her stuff. As I turned I ran into a brick wall better known as Emmett.

"Nice show big brother, very impressive." He was mocking me. I was even more glad that Bella hadn't come back in, she didn't need to deal with asswipe right now too.

I tried to brush past him, but he held his hand out and restrained my chest.

"You better enjoy her while it lasts Edward, because it won't. And she'll come running back to me."

I wasn't in the mood to argue with Emmett, but my mouth had other ideas.

"You know what Emmett? My love for Bella is more than you are even capable of. And I'll be fighting like hell to keep her, but something tells me that I won't need to."

I finally made it past him and started for the door.

"Oh Edward are you really that naïve? She's having her fun, but when she gets bored you know she'll come back to me. You can't give her all the things I could give her." I froze mid-step. I knew that was true. I didn't' and never would have as much money as Emmett did. I'd never be able to support her like he could, or give her all the things she deserved. And dammit she deserved all those things. I didn't know what to say to him now.

"Money isn't everything Emmett."

"Yeah keep telling yourself that Edward, if it makes you feel better."

I turned back to him and saw that Renee was standing next to him. She obviously preferred him over me, because for the first time since I'd arrived she cracked a smile. She knew it was true too.

I turned and bolted out the door. I'd like to say that what they thought or what Emmett said didn't matter, but it did. It had planted a seed of doubt in me. Of course Bells said that she loved me now, but would she feel the same in a couple months when I can't take her on a decent date or buy her nice gifts? I wanted her to have all those things, but I couldn't give them to her. I started to seriously doubt myself. She deserves better than me.

I was silent as I got back into the car. She smiled at me as she took her things from my hand. I was in another world, absolutely oblivious to what was going on around me. I was never going to be good enough for her and it was killing me. I was being selfish by loving her. It only benefited me in the long run.

"Edward?" She looked at me with concern. I struggled to get out a smile, but I knew it didn't look right. We drove in silence back to my house. I didn't move as I shut the engine off.

"Edward? What's wrong?" She turned her whole body towards me, bringing her feet up on the seat.

"Bella." I sighed, not knowing what to say next. "Maybe….maybe they're right."

"What do you mean? Who's right?"

"Your mom…Emmett. I'm no good for you." I shook my head and looked down at my hands.

I heard her breathing increase to a point where it sounded like she was gasping for air.

"What are you saying? You don't want to be with me?" She was crying again.

I didn't want to look back up at her because I couldn't stand to see her cry. It brought me physical pain to see her so sad. But I willed my eyes to look up, and the instant I did I wished I hadn't. I'd never seen her look so devastated. I can't believe I'm doing this to her.

"Bella I can never give you the nice things that you deserve, I'll never be able to take care of you like Emmett could."

"Do you really think that's what I care about?" Her voice was escalating. "I would rather live with you in a cardboard box than with Emmett in his big house. Anyday." That hurt. I knew that she meant it now at least. But she was better than that.

"Bella I just don't think this is going to work." I was on the brink of tears, which was not something that Edward Cullen ever was. I held them in. I knew I had to put on a strong front or she wouldn't ever leave me. I forced my face to turn cold.

"It's been fun Bella, but I think that we should just end it here." I reached across her lap and opened her door.

She looked at me with her mouth gaping.

"I can't believe this," she said shaking her head. "I can't believe you just basically professed your love for me to everyone back at the hotel and now you're breaking up with me?!"

"I'm sorry Bella I think it's for the best."

Her face turned soft.

"You helped me find myself again Edward. You saved me." She reached across for my hand. I let her take it but kept my eyes forward and didn't say a word.

"Edward?"

"I think you should go." I took my hand out of hers and got out the car. She didn't move as I walked up my sidewalk and into my house. I didn't know how long she stayed in there but when I looked out the window an hour later she was gone.

I didn't understand why I just did what I did. I mean a few hours ago I was in heaven, dancing with her and feeling so in love. Now I had just broken her heart and I was alone. What a difference a few hours can make.

I shuffled up to my room and laid down on my bed. I heard a rustling in the corner of my room. I shot up and turned the light on.

"Rosalie what the hell are you doing in here?"

She was standing in the corner twirling a strand of hair in her fingers.

"Quite a display you put on earlier Edward. I just thought you might need some…comforting." She walked slowly over to my bed and crawled onto it straddling my waist.

I was so stressed out with this whole Bella thing, I was fairly sure I wouldn't be able to resist her. I needed something to take my mind off of everything, needed not to think about Bella and how much I loved her and wanted her. I grasped Rosalie's waist firmly and started kissing her neck.

"Good boy," she purred, pushing my head down. I made my way down her chest, slipping her tank top strap down her arm. She was already unbuckling my jeans. I didn't fall asleep afterwards, hell it only lasted ten minutes, but it felt good just to screw her, no feelings involved. For the first time since my run in with Emmett I wasn't thinking about how much I was hurting Bella. In fact I didn't feel anything the entire time. I was completely numb. I felt Rosalie get off the bed and walk to the corner of the room. She dropped the sheet that was wrapped around her body and smiled at me seductively. _Round 2 already? Hell I was up for it, even if it only meant another ten minutes of numbness._

I hopped all too eagerly off the bed and pushed her against the wall, trapping her with my arms. I lifted her up against the wall and she wrapped her legs around my waist. She was…louder than usual. I kept feeling her head turn to the right and couldn't understand what she was doing. I finally looked up at her and she was smiling out the window. _Shit I left the curtain open. _I followed her line of sight. Bella was sitting on her roof, her eyes staring directly at me. If I thought she was devastated in the car earlier, I was completely wrong. She was devastated now. I can't believe this is happening. My head snapped back at Rosalie.

"Did you know she was there?!" I growled.

"I might have." Her smile stayed_._ She knew what she was doing the whole time, she knew Bella was out on the roof. That's why she called me over in front of the window. What a manipulative bitch. It was bad enough that I had to break Bella's heart before but now she had to see me screwing Rosalie through the window the same night.

"Get out!" I said grabbing Rosalie's arm and marching her towards the door.

"Ooo baby I love it when you're rough."

I slammed the door in her face and pulled some jeans on. I couldn't fly to my balcony fast enough. I had to talk to Bella, I had to explain. I had no idea how to explain, but I had to try. That was just…inexcusable. I burst out onto the balcony and looked across the yard. She was gone. Her light was off. I crawled across the tree and tapped quietly on her window. No answer.

"Bella, please I need to explain…"

She finally cracked the window slightly. Her face wasn't sad anymore, it was angry.

"You don't have to explain anything to me Edward, you were pretty clear in the car earlier. You're free to fuck whomever you want." She glared into my eyes for a moment and slammed the window in my face. I sat outside her window, tapping constantly. I couldn't leave her like that. I had to make her understand.

I was still at her window an hour later, pleading with her. She wasn't saying anything. I heard a loud engine pull up in front of her house. _No fucking way. She did not call Emmett._ I made my way up the roof, up to the peak so I could peer over. I got there just in time to see her hop into Emmett's truck before it pulled away. I sat there stunned. Emmett was right. She did go running back to him. I felt terrible. I was hoping I was wrong, and that he was wrong. That she would prove him wrong.

I made my way slowly back to my place, still in shock. I sat against my headboard all night, not sleeping. I had just lost the only person I've ever loved and it was all my fault. A single tear ran down my cheek. I didn't wipe it away, I just watched as it fell onto my chest. "My fault," I whispered to myself as I put my head in my hands. "My fault."


	14. Fallen

**A/N: Thank you thank you thank you for the reviews. I love you guys. XOXO**

**Bella**

I breathed the words quietly into the phone.

"I slept with Emmett."

"I'll be right there," Alice said. I heard the line go dead.

I was propped against my headboard, where I'd been pretty much since Emmett dropped me off this morning. My mom was pissed enough at me for the theatrics last night that she was completely ignoring me. It was kind of funny when you think about it. If she really took the time to ask me why I was so upset, her mood might instantly perk up. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that she hated Edward. I hated him now. I loved him even more. Even after everything that happened last night.

There was a soft tap on my door.

"Bella? It's me," Alice peeked her head inside.

I started at her and didn't say a word. I had a feeling my face conveyed my mood at the moment. She walked in and I noticed that she was carrying a tub of Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough, our staple boy drama comfort food.

She handed me a spoon as she sat down and opened the tub. I took a large scoop and placed it in my mouth. She didn't press me about what happened, I would start talking when I was ready.

"God how did everything get so messed up?" I smacked my head lightly against my headboard.

Alice didn't say anything, she just took another scoop of ice cream, waiting for me to continue.

"Edward broke up with me last night."

Her jaw dropped.

"What? Wh-?" She started.

I held up my finger.

"Wait I'm not done yet. He dumped me in his driveway, in his car. Then I saw him having sex with Rosalie in his bedroom… an hour later."

"Fuck." She breathed. "So how did Emmett weasel his way back in?"

I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Sorry wrong choice of words…but Emmett? I thought you hated him now."

"I do Alice. I hate him so much. I was just…so hurt. I felt like Edward smashed my heart into a million pieces in his car and then just poured salt in the wounds later. I think I did it to get back at him, like he even cares."

Alice took my hand in hers.

"I cried the entire time. You know what Emmett said after? Glad to know I can still make you cry like that. He thought they were tears of joy!" I shook my head and took another scoop of ice cream.

"Bella I don't understand. What happened between you and Edward?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. He was completely fine at the ball and then we got back here and he just said it was over. It was totally out of left field. I had no idea what set him off."

"It doesn't make any sense." Alice took a very large scoop. "I'll put Jasper on the case, see if he can dig up anything."

"No no Alice you don't have to do that. He doesn't want me, he made that pretty clear. I just need to..pick up the pieces and move on I guess." I sighed deeply.

"You really love him don't you?" She was looking right at me now. I closed my eyes and struggled to put my words together.

"Yeah Alice I did. And I was stupid."

"You're not stupid," she said wiping a tear that I didn't realize had escaped down my cheek. "Boys are stupid." I laughed.

"Very."

"That's why I'm convinced God is a woman. I mean why would women be so much more beautiful and smart and clever than men if she wasn't. We were all created in her image. Except Rosalie. She is the spawn of Satan, no doubt."

"Such kind words for your future sister in law."

"You're more my family than she'll ever be, even if she did share the womb with Jasper."

"True."

"I brought something to make you feel better." Alice smiled a little.

"I know Alice thank you for the ice cream."

"Oh no no no…I have something better than ice cream." She held up a small box. It was a DVD.

"You brought Titanic." I laughed a little.

"Nothing like a little Jack Dawson to make you feel better."

She hopped up and popped the movie in. This was our favorite movie. Back when it came out we both had the poster, the game, and the puzzle set. Obsessive didn't even start to explain.

For the next 3 hours we ogled over Leo and the epic romance and tragedy that was Titanic. The Ben and Jerry's was finished before the run in with the iceberg. Alice fell asleep next to me, spoon in mouth. I couldn't sleep, not just yet anyway. My mind was running at a million miles an hour. I needed something to calm me down. I remembered that Edward had left his flask of whiskey on my desk. I grabbed it and stuck my head out the window, hoping not to see a repeat of last night. That was the last thing I needed right now. His window was completely dark, the curtains were pulled shut. My iPod was sitting next to the window, so I took it in my hand before making my way out the window.

I lay back on the roof, looking up at the stars. Nothing made sense to me. I couldn't understand what had affected him so much between the ball and his house. I took a sip out of the flask. Good thing it was pretty much full, I was going to need it. It felt a little like déjà vu of our first night out here.

I sat up and brought my knees up to my chest. The tears felt hot down my face. I started rocking back and forth, crying silently. Did I do something wrong? Did he never really love me? Was he playing me this whole time? I thought back through every detail of our time together in my head. Our first night here, listening to our music, our first kiss, the entire time at my dads, the ball…I couldn't imagine what it was.

I had always joked that we were too good to be true, but maybe that was it. It was too good to be true. There was no way he could love me so fiercely and so passionately. I wasn't someone that got to experience that kind of love. I didn't deserve it.

I found myself shaking the flask, realizing it was completely empty. Who drank all my whiskey? When I noticed that I had to ask myself that question I knew the answer. I had emptied the entire flask in no time at all. That would explain the tingly feeling on my face and why the tree looked like it was growing in front of me.

I was so angry I just wanted to…hit something. Hard. I felt like such an idiot for believing in all his lies. I had completely and truly fallen in love with him and he played me.

"Stupid," I whispered to myself.

My mind started to feel numb. The alcohol was definitely helping but I think it was something else. Something snapped inside of me. If he doesn't want me, fuck him. I don't need that in my life. I'm going to go out and have fun without him and he can sit in his room and be brooding emo man whore all he wants. I'm going to have my fun, whether he was apart of it or not. I liked this numb feeling. It was definitely better than all the pain.

I picked up my Ipod ready to jam to some angry chick music. I hit shuffle and laud my head back down.

"What the hell song is this?" I opened my eyes and looked at the screen. Hootie and the Blowfish? I don't have them on my IPod. I hit next. Skillet? Who the hell are they? Next. Robert Pattinson? Since when does he sing?

"Fuck me." This definitely wasn't my Ipod. Why was irony such a heartless bitch? It was Edward's IPod. I remembered it now.

When he stayed with me the other night he brought his. I thought back to that night. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that he wasn't next to me. I sprung up in a panic and searched the room. I noticed my computer was on and I could see his shadow in front of it.

"Edward?" I asked softly.

No response.

"Edward?" I said a little more firmly.

"Beauty queen of only eighteen…"

"Edward what are you talking about?"

"And she willlllll be lovedddd." His head started bobbing a little. He was singing. Only then did I see the tiny cords coming from his ears down to the desk. I peeked over his shoulder, just to make sure he wasn't looking at porn on my computer before laying my head back down. I sat there listening to his concert for the next couple songs. This wasn't like his singing at the ball the other night. This singing was the dancing around jamming in your underwear type singing. I fell asleep to his version of Always, our song.

My thoughts drifted from that night to our music night right here on this very roof. What were the chances of us both choosing that song? It was uncanny. I felt such a connection to him that night, and now I knew it was all a lie. Fighting back tears, I scanned through his list of artists to the B's and pressed play when I found it. The sounds of Bon Jovi echoed through my ears. I couldn't fight back the tears anymore. I stood up and removed the ear buds from my ears. I wrapped them around the IPod and without thinking chucked it across the gap between our houses. It landed with a thud on his balcony.

"Shit," I said ducking down. _Just because his light is off doesn't mean he's not there Bella. Duh._ I waited in silence, crouched like a weirdo on my roof. There was no movement from inside his room. No lights, no sounds. He must not be there. I giggled a little bit. I stood back up and looked back down at the flask. My eyes flitted between it and his house. I would never be this brave without the whiskey. I threw the flask with all my strength towards his house. It didn't land on the balcony. It went straight through his window with a deafening crash. I stood frozen. I can't believe I just did that. Thank God he wasn't home.

The light in his bedroom flicked on.

"Shit!" I yelled, crouching back down on my legs. I don't think I moved for another ten minutes. After I figured enough time had passed I slowly inched back up. His light was off, thank goodness. I brushed my hands off and started to make my way towards my window. I just wanted to sleep for days.

"Thanks!" The voice was coming from behind me.

I turned slowly and there he was. I could barely make out his shape. He was standing on his balcony holding something; I assumed it was either his IPod or his flask. Although I wasn't too sure if the IPod had survived the flight over. It hit pretty hard. I chuckled a little at the thought.

I smiled big to make sure he saw it, then flipped him my middle finger and crawled back through my window.


	15. 18 Days

**Edward**

18 Days. It's been only 18 days since Bella and I first talked on her roof, and about 10 days since the ball. I was laying in bed with my hands over my face, seriously starting to regret my decision. I was miserable, and until Bella decided to "return" my belongings she looked miserable too. I hated doing that to her.

I sat in my dark room and watched her that night, as creepy as that sounds. It all but killed me not to go out there and comfort her. I watched her as she drank out of my flask, and while she listened to the music. I saw her stand up and throw something towards me. I didn't know what it was until I went out on the balcony and picked up my shattered Ipod. _I guess I deserved that._ I couldn't believe she broke my window. By the look of terror on her face I was guessing that she didn't mean to. _I guess I deserved that too._ I wasn't even thinking when I called out to her, but she definitely surprised me with her hand gesture. I wasn't expecting her to be so…cold. And she's been that way ever since. Cold and completely different.

She's barely ever at her house and when she is she looks…so tired, like she hasn't slept for days. She was pale as hell, she didn't even bother to do her hair. I could see the dark circles under her eyes from all the way up in my room. I knew it wasn't because she was sad or upset. I'd heard around town all different types of stories. She scored a fake I.D. and has been frequenting some bars in town. Or she's been at Emmett's every night doing God knows what. I've even heard that someone saw her buying drugs in an alley, but I refused to believe that. That just wasn't Bella, or not the Bella I knew. I didn't realize that me leaving would….affect her so much. I hadn't meant for it to be this way at all. I thought it would be better for her and now it was just worse. There was no way I could face her now. What was I going to do, walk up to her and say just kidding I love you and I want to be with you? Or tell her how big of a mistake I'd made. It was too late for all that. I was too late.

I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes. Everything is so messed up and I'm the one who caused it. It's all on me, and Bella is the one suffering for it. Not to say that I wasn't suffering because I sure as fuck was, but I didn't care about me. It was dark out now and I hadn't seen her come home yet. I pulled back the curtain and peered out. Her light was still off.

I need to talk to her, apologize. I don't care if she takes me back or not, I just need her to know that I am sorry about what I did and that I loved her more than life itself. I decided to wait for her in her room so I climbed across the tree. I was just about to open her window when I heard a sound from inside. Her light flicked on and the curtains parted slightly so I could see through the sliver.

Emmett was pushing her into her room and against the wall. Her face seemed permanently attached to his. I told myself to look away, that I didn't want to see this. I didn't want to see it, at all, but I was frozen. Emmett pulled her shirt above her head and instantly reconnected his lips to hers. I felt sick, nauseous, dizzy. I could feel the dry heaves coming but I held them back. I shouldn't feel this betrayed, she'd seen me do worse with Rosalie. I could only see the outline of her now, Emmett's body was pressed up against her, trapping her between him and the wall. There was a solid line of her skin from her shoulder down to her foot, which told me he had gotten rid of her pants too. He didn't even take his jeans off. Just a quick fuck against a wall for him. I realized how much of a hypocrite I was for thinking that, cause that was me with Rosalie. But Bella deserved better than that.

I saw his thumb rub over her hip, right where her tattoo was. I sighed and dropped my head into my hands. _That was my rose. Mine._ I couldn't look up again for a long time, but I couldn't will myself to leave. Even sitting there hearing….everything, I couldn't leave. I just sat with my head in my hands and waited till my legs could move again.

After about ten minutes, I stretched one out and started to turn and leave.

"Did you like what you saw?" Her voice was dead, completely lifeless.

I looked up and she was peeking her head out the window.

"No. No I didn't."

"Good." I deserved that. If she had only felt a sliver of the absolute disgust I was feeling right now, I definitely deserved it.

"So what you come over here to have a go?" She started to drag her finger down to her cleavage. She was definitely drunk. I could smell the alcohol on her chest.

"Don't' do that." I said taking her hand and pulling it out of her shirt.

"What I'm not good enough for you to randomly screw like Rosalie?" Now she was unbuckling her jeans again.

"Bella stop." I placed my hands over hers, stopping her from undoing another button.

"You don't want me Edward?" She backed up into her room, away from my reach and lifted her shirt over her head. Her feet clumsily stepped out of her jeans.

"Come on Edward. Fuck me. That's all you wanted in the first place." Her hands reached back and unclasped her bra and it fell to the floor.

I couldn't take this anymore. This was…unbearable, seeing her like this.

I climbed into her window and approached her, fully intending on putting her to bed so she could sleep it off.

Her hands reached out for me, and I thought it was to steady herself because she had started swaying back and forth. But her hands slipped past my arms and went down to my jeans. She started unbuttoning them.

"No Bella," I sighed.

"No?" She pulled them down just as I grabbed for them. She smiled up at me from under her long lashes.

"No Bella," I pushed her lightly away and backed up, pulling my pants up and buttoning them.

She sat unmoving, sprawled on the floor. I could see the tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Bella please don't." I started towards her.

"Don't! Touch me!" She was having hysterics now.

I moved slower towards her with my hands stretched out. She stumbled her way up to her feet only to trip on the edge of her bed and crash back down. I was by her side in an instant, checking to make sure there wasn't any damage.

"Are you okay?" I said tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I'm fine!" She said a little too loudly as she tried to get up. "Ouchhhh! Dammit!" She instantly sat back down rubbing her ankle.

I leaned down closer to inspect it. "You probably just twisted it," I said as my fingers perused over her ankle. I scooped her up before she could protest and laid her on the bed.

"Stay here, I'm going to get ice."

She didn't protest, in fact she looked like she might just pass out at any second, which was probably a good thing. I ran quickly down to her kitchen, hoping that her mom wasn't there. I didn't need to deal with her tonight too. They didn't have any ice so I grabbed a package of frozen peas and headed back upstairs. She was still on the bed, laying with one arm behind her head. I set the package down on her ankle. "Leave. That. There," I said very slowly, making sure she was listening.

"Where is your Tylenol Bella?" I shook her a little bit to keep her conscious a little longer.

"M…urse," she managed to stammer out.

I grabbed for the black bag sitting next to her bed. Makeup bag, wallet, cell phone. I finally found the bottle of Tylenol, along with a ziplock bag with a couple of white pills in it. _No,_ I told myself. I held up the ziplock bag and examined the contents. _This can't be happening._ I spun around to face Bella.

"Bella what are these?!"

She just smiled and laughed.

"Bella! Tell me what these are right now!" I grabbed her arms and tried to force her to look at me.

"They make…me feel good okay!" She was struggling against me. I had no idea what the pills were, but there was no way I was leaving them here with her. I went to the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet.

"Bella," I said lightly gripping her face. "Where did you get those pills?"

"My friend."

"Who? What's his name?"

"I don't know…." She was pushing against my chest. "They make me feel happy, I'm so…so happy right now Edward." She started to fall asleep with her hand still on my chest.

"Bella!" I shook her awake again. "Did you take one of them?"

"Maybe," she whispered before drifting off again.

Well now I definitely can't leave her alone. I turned her over onto her side and laid down next to her, carefully watching her breathing. I didn't want to take her to the hospital just yet, but I was ready with my phone in case something happened. If worse comes to worse I'd call Carlisle. He should be more than obliging to help his son's sex toy. Wouldn't want to upset Emmett. I stroked her cheek lightly as she fell deeper into sleep. Twenty minutes later I felt her starting to shake next to me.

"Bella?" I said as I grabbed her arm. "Bella wake up. Come on now!" I shook her a little and she opened her eyes. She brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to hold back the vomit. I grabbed her in my arms and whisked her away to the bathroom.

She kept trying to hold it in, even when I placed her right next to the toilet.

"No Bella, let it come. You need to get it out of your system." I started rubbing her back as she finally gave in and lifted her head over the seat. I'd never seen somebody puke so much in my life. An hour later, I was convinced there was nothing left in her. I grabbed a cup from the counter and filled it with water.

"Here drink this," I said handing her the glass. "And these." I handed her some Tylenol. Her shaking had stopped, so I figured she was okay…for now at least. I carried her back to the bed where she fell fast asleep again.

I reached for my phone, searched through my contacts, and hit send.

"Alice I need to talk to you right now. I'm at Bella's."

Alice walked in twenty minutes later.

"How long has this been going on?" I felt like I didn't need to specify what I was talking about.

"Since the night she threw your stuff through your window. She goes out every night, gets drunk and comes home. I've talked to her about it Edward, I swear." She looked down at her hands. "It's like it's not her anymore. She's just so…lost."

"When did the drugs start?"

"Drugs?! I….I didn't know." She shook her head fiercely fighting back tears. She looked towards Bella. "What is it?"

"I don't know. I flushed it all down the toilet."

Alice brought her hand to her mouth and muffled her crying.

"I didn't know it was this bad." She sat down on the bed and starting rubbing Bella's back.

"Alice I can't stay here tonight, that's why I called you. You need to stay right next to her all night. Until she wakes up in the morning, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"And I need you to do something else too. If you ever, ever see her taking anything or drinking too much again, I need you to call me. I know she thinks I don't care about her, but I do. I just think that it's better for us not to be together. She deserves better."

Alice didn't say anything, she just nodded slightly almost in understanding.

"And please keep that between us, she doesn't need to know that."

I kissed Bella on the cheek and whispered into her ear. "Always."

Alice smiled slightly as I stepped out the window and crawled back to my room. I didn't sleep all night. I couldn't help but think about Bella next door and how I wished I was the one taking care of her. It physically pained me not to be there. I was in hell, plain and simple.


	16. Unbeautiful

**A/N: Hey guys I just wanted to address something. I didn't want to portray Bella as a hard core drug addict b/c that's not how she is at all and I just wanted to make sure everyone understood that. She's going through a rough time and the pills and drinking are helping her escape in a way. I didn't specifically name the pills because I didn't really want to place a name on them, but they would be some kind of anti depressant or pain killers that she's just taking way too much of and not under a doctor's supervision. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for all your reviews. I love love love them. XOXO**

**Bella**

I opened my eyes to the morning light streaking through my open window. How did I get back to my place? This was becoming a normal occurrence, me not remembering chunks of time. I didn't care. I didn't care about any of it or anything or anyone. I sat up and immediately realized that that wasn't the best idea. I felt like shit. Actually shit didn't even begin to describe it. I sat still for a minute just long enough to make the world stop spinning. A nice cool glass of water and a hot shower sounded amazing, so I got up and started towards the bathroom.

"Hi."

I spun around to find Alice sitting in the corner of my room.

"Oh Alice you scared me." I managed a smile. I know I haven't been the best friend to her lately. She's called me almost everyday for the past week and I haven't bothered to call her back. The worst part was that it didn't even bother me that much. That's how messed up I've been lately. I told myself it was all just a phase, that it'd pass. I was upset, it was normal. I tried every excuse to rationalize my total 180 turn in behavior, but I was lying to myself and I knew it. But that didn't mean I was planning on stopping anytime soon. I was done feeling. It hurt too much.

"Bella we need to talk."

I shuffled to the bathroom and grabbed a glass of water. I had a feeling this was a heart to heart moment but I wasn't in the mood. I sat down unenthusiastically on the edge of my bed and waited for her to start.

"How long Bella?"

I stared at her, confused by her question. She's seen me out drinking since my run in with Edward, she knows damn well how long.

"The drugs Bella." She looked annoyed.

"What did you go snooping through my purse?" I was a little angry. She had no right to judge me right now. The man she loved loved her back. Jasper didn't dump and hump.

"No."

"Well how the hell did you know then?!"

She paused, looking like she wasn't sure if she should say anything.

"Spit it out Alice, how did you know?"

"Edward told me."

I froze.

"Edward was here?" I instinctively leaned closer to Alice.

"He called me last night Bella. To come here and stay with you."

I couldn't breathe. Edward was here with me. And I didn't even remember it.

"Oh God. What happened?"

"He didn't really say much about how he ended up in your room. He called me and told me that I needed to come here right away. When I got here he asked me about your…drug habit. I told him I didn't know anything about it and he told me that I needed to stay here with you through the night. By the looks of your bathroom you puked….a lot."

I closed my eyes trying to remember anything. A touch, a look, his smell. Nothing.

"Bella what were the pills?"

I was a little embarrassed that it'd gotten this bad. I couldn't even talk to my best friend about what I'm going through. I feel like she wouldn't understand. No one understands.

"They make me feel alive Alice. I need them."

"You need them?" She was disgusted. I was disgusted with myself.

I shook my head. "Just forget it Alice. It's not your problem, it's mine."

"It's not my problem?!," she yelled. "My best friend is turning into a drugged out zombie and it's not my problem?"

"I need to take a shower, I think you should go." Classic avoidance. I didn't want to deal with Alice now. I was done dealing for right now.

She grabbed her purse and started stomping out.

"Call me when Bella reappears, if she's not dead by then." She slammed the door behind her and I shuffled back into the bathroom. I was completely zoned out the entire shower. I didn't even realize I'd been in there an hour until I stepped out and looked at the clock.

I let out a little gasp when I saw myself in the mirror, if I could even call it myself. I looked skinny, too skinny. I didn't know how I could lose so much weight in a little over a week. I wasn't eating much and all the pills and drinking can't be helping. I took the towel out of my hair and rung it out. I stared long and hard at the reflection staring back at me. I felt so lost, so vulnerable, so…unbeautiful. Edward was here last night and he didn't even want to stay with me. To make sure I was okay. My breath quickened. He couldn't even concern himself with me so he had to call Alice to finish the job. He really didn't care, at all. Warm tears started to escape from my eyes, so much so that I could barely even see out them. I wiped them away and stared at my face again. Why was I so unlovable? My mom didn't love me, Edward didn't love me, Emmett didn't love me, the only person who loved me was taken away from me. Charlie always loved me unconditionally, no questions asked. I wonder how he would think of me now. Would he even still love me? I started to grow angry. Not at anyone else, but at myself. I was pushing everyone away who I ever cared about. I brought my fist back and slammed it forward into the mirror, which shattered into a million pieces on my floor.

I think I was in shock as I watched the blood trickle down my hand. I didn't even move for a towel until a small puddle had accumulated on my floor. I heard my bedroom door whip open.

"Bella! What the hell happened?"

I didn't say anything as my mom placed her hands over mine on the towel. It was stained bright red.

"What is going on with you lately?" She looked towards the mirror.

"Oh please Mom do you really have to ask?" I looked towards her. Did she really not connect all my behavior to Edward?

"What, you're this upset cause that trash dumped you? It was just a fling Bella, get over it." She released my hand, without even inspecting my injuries, and bent down to start picking up the pieces of the mirror.

"I loved this mirror." I've never heard her say I love you to me with as much emotion as she said it about that mirror. I had to get out of there. I dropped the towel on the ground at my mother's feet and bolted from my room, grabbing my purse and my keys on the way out. I heard her yelling at me, but I tuned her out. I needed something. I needed to escape for a while. I needed to be happy.

I flipped open my cell phone and dialed Emmett.

"Booty call already? It's a little early Bells."

"This isn't a booty call Emmett. I need to get in touch with Zack."

"Okay, okay, chill."

"Now Emmett!" I was reaching my breaking point. My foot pressed down harder on the accelerator as I sped through downtown.

"He doesn't exactly do house calls Bella."

"I'm not at my house. Call him and tell him to meet me at the usual spot in a half hour. Tell him I'll pay him double."

"Okay fine whatever."

I hung up and increased my speed. I was there in ten minutes so now I had to wait another twenty. If I had any luck at all he'd be early.

I was extremely jumpy and anxious. It's what the pills were doing to me, why I needed them. My mind went in all different places without them, places I didn't want it to go.

I noticed Zack walking slowly towards me. I knew the routine. He sat on the bench next to me and pulled out a newspaper, putting it in front of his face.

"You have the cash?" He whispered, not breaking his gaze from the newspaper.

I didn't say a word I just slid the $500 into his coat pocket. When the cash was safely in he slid his hand across the bench. I lifted my leg slightly and he placed the zip lock bag under my leg before checking his watch, folding the paper up, and walking away. I reached under my leg after 5 minutes and enclosed the bag in my hand before leaving as well.

My mom had her book club tonight so she should be gone when I get back. It took me twice the time to get to my house. As I pulled in I looked up at Edward's window. There was a light on. I didn't linger too long, I didn't want him to see me. He probably thinks I'm pathetic.

I waited until I was inside before I began my second breakdown of the day. I could barely even open the bag and pull a pill out. I put it in my mouth and swallowed, no water. It should only take ten minutes or so to kick in. I sauntered over to my window and stared longingly at his balcony. I wished with all my heart that I could remember last night. I just want to hear his voice. I stared down at my phone. _Don't do it Bella. It's just going to make you feel worse…_._But I need it. It's like he's a drug. _Not like the pills, but something that has all the withdrawal symptoms. I just needed a little hit. Just a bit of him to get me through.

I blocked my number and then dialed his. I almost hung up after the second ring but he picked up.

"Hello?"

I didn't say anything. I was just trying to hold in my sobs. I was pretty sure he could hear my sniffling on the other end. We stayed on the line for over a minute not saying anything. He must have known it was me. I didn't even try to hold in the tears anymore, I just let them flow. I peaked my head out the window and looked towards his. I could see his shadow in the window. It looked like he had his hand on forehead, like he was stressed…or annoyed. He's annoyed with me. Why was he doing this to me? Why would he stay on the line with me this whole time, listening to me cry my eyes out? It was cruel. I slammed the phone shut and watched as he brought his hand down from his ear and closed his. Then his light went off.

I needed to hear his voice, but I couldn't do that again. Ever. I settled into bed, feeling the pills starting to kick in. I turned my lights off but the light from my phone still illuminated the room. After pressing the password for my voicemail, I pressed 3 for "saved messages" and set the phone against my ear. Then I heard it.

_Hey babe,_

_I'm just calling to say that I miss you. I know you're getting ready for your ball tonight, but I just wanted to call and tell you that I love you. I love you so much. Have fun tonight and know that I'll be missing you while you're gone._

The silent tears continued. Voicemail was definitely the way to go. Then at least he wouldn't know I was a crazy, pill-pushing psycho who prank called him just to hear his voice. I pushed repeat and listened to his message at least seven times. I closed my phone and set it on my nightstand. The drugs were in full affect and I finally drifted off to sleep, where Edward was still mine, where he still loved me, and where we were still happy together.


	17. Crashed

**A/N: For those of you who don't like depressed Bella, she will be leaving very soonly…but probably not for the reason you think. Again thanks for the reviews. I always read every single one of them so keep them coming. XOXO**

It had been a week since Bella's silent phone call. I could barely stand to sit there and listen to her cry. She seemed hurt and in pain. I had almost decided right then and there to go to her, but she hung up and I forced myself to go to sleep.

As far as I could tell from the party going on next-door she was over being hurt. It reminded me a lot of that first night when I met her on the roof. I told myself not to go over there then and I didn't listen so I sure as hell was listening to myself now. I'm not going over there, not unless Alice calls me. I had briefly locked eyes with her while I was taking a smoke out on my balcony. She nodded before heading back inside.

I laid my head down on my bed, trying to tune out the music and my thoughts. I was able to block them out enough to drift off into a light sleep, which was quickly interrupted by my cell phone vibrating.

"Alice," I said groggily. "What's going on..is she okay?"

"Edward she's locked herself in her room and she won't let anyone in. I don't know…what she has in there with her."

I put my head in my hands.

"Okay I'll climb over and check on her. You should probably take everyone downstairs. It's probably not helping her to have a ton of people barricaded outside of her door."

"Okay no problem. Everyone! Back downstairs! Pronto!...Call me if you need anything." She hung up.

I got up and put my phone in my back pocket before stepping out on the balcony. Her light was off, but I could see a faint glow coming from her window...maybe from a candle.

I scrambled across the tree and peeked in her window. She was curled up on her bed. Even from the window I could tell she was shaking slightly. The candle was sitting on her nightstand and her gaze was completely focused on the flame. She held her hand out and kept passing her fingers through it, keeping them longer and longer each time.

I tapped softly on the window and she spun around quickly. Her eyes got really big, but she didn't look angry or make any effort to come and lock me out so I slowly opened the window and crawled in.

"Hi," I whispered.

"Hi," she said as she resumed her previous position.

"So. Alice called me. She said you wouldn't let anyone in. What's going on?" I placed my hand on her side as she lay, but she quickly shuddered away. I drew my hand back instinctively. I have to be more careful about touching her like that, it probably doesn't help.

"I'm sorry," she said slowly, never moving her eyes from the flame.

"What are you sorry for Bella? I should be the one apologizing."

"Edward I've been a wreck these past few weeks," she closed her eyes. "I am a wreck."

"You're only a wreck because of me."

"It's not like every girl who gets dumped goes nuts like I did." She laughed quietly.

She sat up and looked me directly in the eye. "I'm sorry and I'm done being that girl. I'm moving on and I've accepted that you don't want to be with me. And I really hope we can be friends…eventually."

I was glad that she was breaking out of her coma, but I still felt responsible. Maybe it would just be better if I took a trip, went away for awhile, let her really heal.

"Of course we can be." I smiled. It was going to hurt me to just be her friend, but if it was what was best for her and what she wanted then I would do it. I would suffer through that, I would take the pain for her.

She lay back on the bed. "So what have you been doing the past few weeks?"

"To tell you the truth pretty much just worrying about you."

"God Edward I'm so sorry for that. I don't know what happened to me, it was like when you left me I just…snapped. And that wasn't fair of me to put that much of my love on you. We barely knew each other and it was wrong of me to assume that you were falling just as fast and as hard as I was."

"Bella…"

"No Edward I need to say this. And then yesterday my mom almost caught me stealing money out of her purse to buy more pills. I had to hide in her shower for 4 hours. During my bathroom time it just hit me about how pathetic I was. I mean how ridiculous is that?" She laughed. "So I decided right then and there to stop it."

"So what's that then?" I nodded to the glass beside her bed.

"Just a little celebration." She smiled. I could tell she'd been drinking, but she wasn't drunk. I wouldn't hand her the keys to my car or anything but at least she would remember this tomorrow.

"That's great Bells, I'm really proud of you."

"Yeah," she said as she smiled down at her hands.

Bella looked utterly exhausted. I was glad she was rethinking her recent lifestyle because I don't think that she could survive much longer.

"You should get some sleep Bella, I'll go."

"No!"

"Bella look at yourself, you need to rest."

"No I don't mean that. I'm actually absolutely exhausted, but…can you maybe stay with me until I fall asleep? I feel like I've been alone too much lately, I miss just feeling someone beside me. Nothing funny I promise."

I laid down beside her and smiled. She still thought I didn't love her, that I didn't want to be with her more than anything in the world. Part of me knew it was better that way but another part of me was saying "fuck it" you love her, she still loves you, be together and be happy. I almost forced myself to tell her everything, but when I turned towards her she was already sleeping.

I sat having an internal debate for another fifteen minutes. I decided that I had to tell her, that I couldn't keep this inside me. It would kill me like it almost killed her. It was still a good idea for me to take some time off, take some time to myself. But when I got back, I was going to tell her everything. And if she still wanted to be with me, I'd be here.

I slipped out of bed and crept silently towards the door. I'd let Alice know I'd be gone for a while, so she could tell Bella. I didn't want to leave her in the dark. As I slipped out the door I heard Bella change positions in bed. I gave one more look back at her and I could have sworn I saw her eyes flutter open, but she didn't move again.

The party was still roaring downstairs. Alice was sitting at the bottom of the stairs. I was thankful that I wouldn't have to go looking for her. I didn't feel like floating through the entire party.

"I think she's going to be fine Alice."

"Thank God. She scared me. I didn't know what to do."

"I think she's done with the whole drugs/excessive drinking escapade."

She sighed heavily. I think she was just as relieved as I was.

"Um Alice, I do need you to tell Bella something for me though. I'm going away for a while; I need to just…re-evaluate some things. I'll be back in a few weeks."

"When are you leaving?"

"The sooner the better. Probably tonight." It didn't help me to stick around here, I might as well.

"Okay I'll tell her." She kissed me on the cheek. "I'm going to go find Jasper." She turned and walked away. I was just about to make my way through the crowd to leave when I felt a large hand on my chest, blocking my way.

"What do you want Emmett?"

"You know Edward. I was actually pretty impressed you've been listening to me for the past couple weeks. I didn't realize you'd break up with her so fast after our little chat, but hey more for me. I just hope you don't make these little visits a habit. You're no good for her. Just remember that big brother."

"You're just lucky I love her that much Emmett." My hand reached up forcefully and pushed him back against the wall. He spilled his beer all over the front of him. I chuckled to myself and walked out the front door. I pulled my car from its normal spot in the driveway, into the garage so I could load up my traveling supplies easier. I decided it would be a good idea to close the garage door, I didn't need any surprises when I tried to leave. One time I'd left the garage open and found a naked kid sleeping in my wheelbarrow. Not something I wanted to see again.

I headed upstairs and started packing my stuff. Twenty minutes later I was leaving a note for my mom, explaining where I was going. She would be worried, but I knew she trusted me.

There was a deafening crash outside. I wasn't sure how far away it was, but I was willing to bet Emmett and his buddies were setting off fireworks again in the field down the road.

"Idiots," I muttered under my breath. I heard someone burst through the door downstairs.

"Edward!" Alice cried. She sounded hysterical.

I met her halfway down my stairs. She was crying so hard I could barely understand her.

"Alice…slow down what happened?"

"Bella. She…she heard you and Emmett. She knows that he's the reason you broke up with her. And she…she just freaked out on him. She was leaving to go find you and I told her that you were leaving. I couldn't convince her that you were really leaving, especially tonight so she started towards your house. She saw your car was gone and she started freaking out all over again. She was crying…and screaming and I couldn't calm her down. I ran back to her house to get Jasper for him to help me. I'm so sorry Edward I didn't know what to do."

"Well it's okay, where is she? I'll talk to her."

"Edward her car is gone."

Suddenly that defeaning crash I heard earlier had a lot more meaning. Before I knew it I was running out my front door. Jasper was in the driveway, looking down the road.

"Jasper call 911!" I ran past him without looking towards him. I threw myself into the darkness, down the road she would have taken. The darkness was everywhere. I couldn't even see the road I was running on. Then I saw them. Taillights on the side of the road. I could see the smoke rising up from the front of the car, if you could even tell where the front was.

"Bella!" I yelled. No response. "Bella! Talk to me baby, where are you?"

I ran to the side of the heap and looked in the window. The cab was empty and the windshield was shattered. There was blood dripping from the edges of the glass.

I ran in front of the truck, looking for any sign of her. I was frantic. She had to be here. I looked farther out in front of the car. Something caught my eye in the light of the headlights. A shoe. I ran towards it. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. I felt my knees buckle as I sunk down into the grass.

"Oh my God."


	18. Breathing

**Edward**

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Every tick of that damn clock felt like a year dragged on.

"Edward, you should try and get some rest. I'll let you know when she's out of surgery." Alice patted me on my shoulder.

"Yeah buddy, go home and get some rest. You should…um change your clothes. You might be more comfortable." Jasper was sitting in the chair next to me.

For the first time since we entered the waiting room I looked down at my hands. Blood. Bella's blood was…everywhere. I closed my eyes and remembered the long hour since I'd found her.

I couldn't even see her face. Her hair was all matted across her face. I bent down and tried to brush it back, but it was like it was glued to her face. I pulled my hands back and saw the bright red stains on them. Her eyes were closed, she looked almost…peaceful. I stood there for several minutes with my hands outstretched over her. I didn't know what to do. I felt like I was helpless. I started to reach down to pick her up, but Jasper's hand pulled me back.

"Don't move her man, she might have neck injuries. Just leave her, the paramedics are on their way."

I sat down next to Bella and lightly grabbed her hand.

"H-hang on babe." I brought my lips down and kissed her hand, which was covered in blood.

I heard a piercing scream from behind me. Jasper started back towards the road.

"Alice don't come over here. I told you to stay at the house." He took her in his arms and started rubbing her back. "Baby please go back to the house. Go get the car so we can follow the ambulance to the hospital. I want you to park it up at the bend okay."

I knew why he'd chosen that bend. She wouldn't be able to see them load Bella into the ambulance. He was protecting her. I looked down at Bella and started to feel my chest tighten. My breaths began to come out in short heaves and I started rocking back and forth, one hand holding Bella's and the other across my forehead.

"Go," Jasper said to Alice before returning to my side. He sat down next to me.

"God why aren't they here yet?"

"They'll be here, we only called them five minutes ago."

"I should have been there Jazz." The tears were freely flowing from my eyes. "I should have been there to…to protect her."

"Edward this was an accident. You couldn't have protected her from this."

Sirens. In the distance. Thank God.

"They're almost here Bella, just keep breathing." I knew that she was, because that was all I was watching for the past ten minutes. Her chest slowly rising up and down.

They pulled up right besides us and two men got out. "Okay boys what happened?"

"She-she's had an accident. I don't know what happened."

"Okay son you're going to have to back away now so we can tend to her."

I stared down at our entwined hands, not wanting to let go. Not ever again.

"Son?"

I took all of my strength and let go of her. Jasper and I watched as the two men hovered over her. They were quickly joined by a policeman who had pulled up shortly after them. They were mumbling quickly to each other. I couldn't make out a word they were saying until one of them turned back towards the ambulance. As he opened the back door to grab a stretcher he radioed back to his base.

"Severe head trauma. Not looking so good. We may lose her before we get there." He shook his head and rushed the stretcher towards Bella.

I felt my knees buckle for the second time that night, but this time Jasper was there to catch me. I felt his arms under mine as he steadied me.

"Hey. That doesn't mean anything Edward. She's a fighter; she'll make it through this. After all you guys have been through, you deserve to be together."

I spun around quickly and grasped for him. I needed some support, anything. I didn't care if I looked like a pansy or whatever. My hands grabbed bunches of his shirt as I clung to him crying like a baby. I didn't even realize that the ambulance had pulled away until Alice pulled up beside us. She was still hysterical. Jasper let go of me and walked around to the driver's side.

"Sweetie let me drive." Alice scooted over to the passenger's side and I hopped in the backseat. There were no words on the drive to the hospital. I had leaned forward, positioning myself between Jazz and Alice. My hands were dangling over the seat into the front, hanging lifelessly. Alice took one of them and didn't let go. I think we both took a little comfort, no matter how little it was, that both of us had one of the most important people in their lives fighting for hers.

I didn't even remember the walk to the waiting room. I felt like Alice was toting me along, and Jasper was toting her along. I had only sat for about five minutes when I sprung up.

"Charlie! I need to call Charlie…and Renee."

"I just did Edward, they're both on their way. Charlie should be here in a few hours. Renee was out of town on a business trip so she's trying to get a flight back as soon as possible."

I relaxed back into my chair a little. Jasper now sat in between Alice and me, holding her hand and constantly patting my shoulder.

The doctor came out about twenty minutes later and explained that Bella had extensive brain injuries and that they were taking her into emergency surgery immediately.

"Are her parents here?" The doctor looked at the three of us.

"No," Jasper said. "They're both out of town, they're on their way."

"Okay and you are…?"

"Just friends."

"I'm her boyfriend," I answered shaking.

"Oh well in that case. You," he pointed to me. "Can come and see her very briefly before we take her in. She's still not awake, but she may be able to hear you."

I stood up and followed the doctor past the doors with a red "Restricted" painted on them. He led me to a small room and opened the door. There she was. My angel. Even with all the machines and tubes attached to her she looked beautiful.

"Five minutes," the doctor said as he closed the door.

"Hey Bells." I brushed my hand lightly across her cheek. I couldn't lie to myself, she looked pretty banged up. "Baby they're taking you in to surgery to make you all better. And I need you to get better because I love you so much. So much." I could barely get my words out. A part of me was wishing that she couldn't hear me. I didn't want her to hear me so distraught. I didn't want to scare her.

I sat for the next few minutes watching her heart monitor. Beep. Beep. Beep. I brushed my lips lightly over her hand before laying it back down on the bed. The doctor entered the room.

"It's time. We'll keep you updated, but it usually takes a while. Especially with brain trauma."

I shuffled back out into the waiting room and was surprised when there was one more person there than when I left it.

"What are you doing here Carlisle?"

"Edward. I was working third shift tonight. I heard about Bella and came down to assess the situation."

"I see. And what is your assessment?" I couldn't believe that I was capable of sarcasm right now.

"Honestly. I'll be surprised if she survives the surgery. Such a pity." His voice had no emotion in it at all.

My hands flew up in front of me as I pushed him violently against the wall.

"Well you better be ready to be surprised _Doctor_ Cullen! If you're such an amazing doctor why don't you get your ass in there and help her!" I slammed my fist on the wall beside his head. He shook his head and ducked under my arm, walking into the same restricted doors I had just come from.

I sat back down in my chair and put my head in my hands.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Every tick of that damn clock felt like a year dragged on.

"Edward, you should try and get some rest. I'll let you know when she's out of surgery." Alice patted me on my shoulder.

"Yeah buddy, go home and get some rest. You should…um change your clothes. You might be more comfortable."

A half hour later I was back at home taking a hot shower. I changed quickly and was planning to go right back to the hospital, but I found myself crawling across our tree to Bella's room. I stepped inside and walked slowly towards her bed. The stuffed animal I had won for her at the fair was on the bed. She must have been holding that with her when she was laying there. I hadn't seen it before. I sat down on her bed and grabbed it, pulling it close to me. It was so soft and it even smelled like her. I let the tears flow freely. Before I knew it I was under her covers crumpled into the fetal position, gripping on the stuffed animal for dear life.

"I can't lose her," I whispered to myself between sobs. "I can't."

I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep until the sound of my phone woke me. Alice.

"What's going on?" I looked outside for the first time. It was light out. How long had I slept? I looked at the clock across her room. I'd slept the whole day away; it was already 5 p.m. the next day.

"Edward where have you been?" Her voice did not sound promising, at all.

I tensed up before I answered her,

"I'm sorry I fell asleep. Is she out of surgery?"

"Yeah they said it went really well."

My spirits lifted for the first time since the accident.

"Really? When will she be awake? Did they say?"

"Edward she's awake. But-"

"She's awake!" I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice. I was ecstatic. She was going to be okay. I let out a little chuckle to myself.

"Edward wait-"

"I'll be right there." I hung up and jumped off the bed, doing several more jumps once my feet were planted firmly on the ground. I looked around the room. I wanted it to be perfect for her when she got back. I made her bed and placed the stuffed animal right in the center. I made sure everything else was decent before I bolted out the door.

I was smiling the whole way to the hospital.

When I got there Alice and Jasper were still sitting in the waiting room.

"Where is she?" I asked as I walked past them. They started to say something, but I saw the room labeled recovery and I ran towards it.

"I'm looking for Bella Swan please." I told the woman at the desk.

"She already has a visitor sir, I'm sorry." She pointed to the room at the end of the hallway. I could see someone sitting next to Bella in a baseball cap. Charlie. He was here.

"I'm her boyfriend. It's okay, I think her visitor will give us a few minutes."

She hesitated then nodded.

I practically sprinted down the hall and ran through her door.

"Charlie! I'm so glad you ma-"

The man in the baseball cap turned. It was not Charlie.

"Emmett what the hell are you doing here?"

"Shut up Edward, she's sleeping."

"Edward?" I smiled as I heard the sweetest voice in the world. I looked towards her and melted into her big brown eyes. She was still attached to tubes and machines but I was so glad I could see her eyes. It really told me that she was okay.

"Emmett get out!" I looked back at him.

"No!," Bella cried. Only then did I notice that she was grasping on to his hand. He smiled back at me.

"Bella what are you doing?" I took a step towards her. "What. What about us? You know everything now, we can be together."

"Us?" She looked really confused. And weak. And I just wanted to scoop her up and hold her in my arms. "Edward I barely know you."

What was she saying? Emmett smiled at me, it was a devilish grin.

"Edward I think you should leave. My girlfriend was just in a horrific accident and we appreciate your concern, but she needs to rest." His face turned tender as he turned towards Bella, gently stroking her hand.

"Yeah Edward. Thank you for stopping by." Her smile was genuine, but why was she saying these things?

"I don't underst-" I began.

Renee burst in the door.

"Edward. How lovely of you to visit." Her smile was too big for my liking. "Bella needs her rest I think you should leave."

I looked back and forth between the three of them. Emmett and Renee looked too smug for their own good, Bella just looked….puzzled at what was unfolding before her. Even under her tubes I could see her brow was furrowed into a state of confusion.

I would have bet that my face was even more confused. I searched the room frantically for some answers. My eyes darted out of the room and I saw Charlie standing at the nurse's station. Without another word I left the room and ran up to him.

"Charlie? I was just in Bella's room. What the hell is going on?"

"Edward calm down."

"I just. I don't understand I thought everything went well with the surgery, why is she so out of it still. I mean she was holding Emmett's hand, and she didn't even correct him when he called her his girlfriend." I shook my head.

"Edward that's because she is."

"Wait what?"

"In her mind. She is Emmett's girlfriend and they are together."

"I….still don't understand."

"The doctor's say memory loss is common in head traumas. I'm sorry Edward."

"Memory loss? How..how bad is it? I mean when is it going to go away?"

"It can be permanent Edward. She has no recollection of the past 3 months at all. It took her an hour to convince her that she wasn't missing school right now."

I felt my mouth drop open. I can't believe this is happening. All of our memories, all of our…love. It was gone.

I couldn't speak, I just walked like a zombie out to the waiting room. It wasn't fair. How is it fair that I'm the one left with all these memories and she can go and make new ones with Emmett? That just doesn't seem right.

"Hey man." Jasper got up from his chair.

"Edward I'm so sorry." Alice was by his side in an instant. She looked immensely better. Of course she did. At least Bella knew who she was and how much she loved her.

"Alice you have to talk to her. You have to make her understand," I pleaded.

"I can't do that to her Edward. I can't just waltz in there and tell her everything she knows and remembers is wrong. I won't do that to her."

Jasper wrapped his arms around her.

"The doctors said it wasn't smart to try to tell her all the memories she missed. It will just confuse her and it could make her have a mental breakdown. They recommended it was better to just go along with what she remembered as best as we could, but they said not to lie about the accident or what happened to her. She needs to know that, but it's too painful for patients like her to go back through that time that they "missed." We're allowed to answer any direct questions she asks but we can't dictate her life to her."

Jasper wasn't even going to help me. Nobody could help me. I was on my own. My legs started running towards the door just fast enough for me to vomit on the grass. My whole life just fell apart for the second time and there was nothing I could do this time to fix it. I got in my car and drove. Drove for hours. Drove looking for my answers that were never going to come.

**A/N: Shoutout to Izzy. I know you didn't want the whole memory loss issue to happen, but it's been a part of my story plan since the beginning and had a lot to do with why I named the story the way I did. I really hope you keep reading and like what I do with it, along with everyone else. XOXO**


	19. Lost

**Bella**

Black. The last few months are completely black. It was terrifying to know that this huge chunk my memory, of my life was missing. One minute I was getting ready to end my junior year of high school, the next I wake up in a hospital bed and it's the middle of the summer.

I cried…a lot…when they first told me. I didn't understand what was going on. It felt like my whole life had been ripped apart; thank God Emmett was there for me. I had remembered us going through a rough patch, but he seemed really supportive now, so it must have gotten better the past few months. I just wish I could remember it.

I lay my head back in the bed. This whole thing was just, absolutely heartbreaking. I read about the accident in the paper. It said that Edward had stumbled upon my accident and called for help. That must have been why he was at the hospital after I woke up. He was checking on me. I had never really known Edward, but he did save my life. I was eternally grateful to him.

Emmett walked in just then, carrying some flowers. He had brought me flowers everyday I'd been in the hospital, two weeks now. My room smelled like a meadow full of wildflowers. I smiled as he walked towards the bed, red roses in hand. He set them on the bedside table and kissed me on my forehead.

"So you get to go home today. Are you excited?" Emmett sat in the chair beside me and took my hand.

"Yeah. I'm really sick of hospital food."

He laughed and offered to cook me a gourmet meal when I got home. I knew better. He couldn't cook worth a damn, but it was the gesture that counts. He picked up the same newspaper I'd been reading and flipped to the sports section. The picture of my accident was staring me in the face.

"Em, I was thinking I should go see him…you know thank him."

"Who babe?"

"Edward." He stiffened. I knew they didn't really have the brotherly love.

"I know you two don't get along, but he did save my life Emmett. I could at least say thank you."

"It isn't necessary Bella. Anyone would have done what he did." His face turned cold. I didn't realize it was _that _touchy of a subject.

"Okay fine. I won't." I didn't want to start an argument.

My mom and dad entered the room just then. I knew they couldn't stand being in the same city as each other, let alone the same room, but they'd been doing really well the last couple of weeks. They pulled it all together to be here for me.

"Hey kiddo," Charlie said as he sat on the edge of my bed.

"I just talked to Carlisle, he said they should be discharging you within the next few minutes."

Almost as if on cue a nurse rolled in pushing a wheelchair. I felt like it was totally unnecessary. I could walk just fine, it was my brain that needed the wheelchair right now.

Emmett helped me into the chair and then proceeded to wheel me out of the room. When we got back to my house I chanced a peek over at Edward's wondering when I would have the chance to sneak over and talk to him. Hopefully Emmett wouldn't feel the need to stay over tonight.

My mom and Charlie stayed downstairs while Emmett followed me up to my room. He sat on the bed while I started to unpack my stuff that my parents had brought to me for the last couple weeks. When I was finished, I laid down beside him. I was trying to cuddle up to his chest, but something was poking me in the back. I reached under and pulled out a stuffed animal that I'd never seen before. Or maybe I had and I just didn't remember it. I held it up to Emmett, questioning what it was. His eyes squinted a little and then he smiled.

"I got that for you a couple weeks ago."

"You did?" I smiled. We must have been doing better the last few months because I never remembered Emmett getting me gifts. "What for?"

"Because I love you. Do I need a reason to spoil my girlfriend?"

I leaned up and kissed him. "Of course not."

There was a knock on the door. My mom peeked her head in.

"Dinner's ready guys."

Charlie stayed for dinner. Him and my mom were still putting on their charade. After dinner my dad left for his hotel for the night and thankfully Emmett went home. It was still early, I could make it over to Edward's while I had the chance.

My mom was busy working on something at the kitchen table, so I offered to take the garbage out. She was so involved in her work, she wouldn't notice I was gone longer than was needed to walk out to the road and back.

I stared at Edward's house while the heavy garbage bag dragged behind me. I saw a light flicker on at a window on the second floor. I think that was his, the one with the balcony. I've seen him out there smoking a cigarette a few times.

After I dropped the garbage bag off at the road I walked across the small patch of grass that separated our two driveways and walked up to the door. I pushed the doorbell and shuffled my feet nervously. I hope this wasn't awkward.

The door opened. I was hoping he would answer, but it was his mother.

"Bella sweetie. How are you feeling?" She was always so nice. That's probably why her and my mom were never friends.

"A lot better now that I'm home," I said with a smile. "Actually I wanted to talk with Edward…for a minute. Is he home?"

"Sure. He's in his room."

She opened the door further and I walked in. I waited at the base of the stairs, not really knowing where his room was for sure.

It was like a light when off in her head and she pointed up the stairs.

"I'm sorry Bella, I've forgotten…" She looked like she was holding back something. "Second door on the right."

I walked nervously up the stairs. I've only talked to Edward once or twice before this. I felt a little weird just marching into his room.

There was light music coming from behind his door. I tapped lightly, not wanting to interrupt him if he was busy.

"Come in," his voice was soft, almost sad.

I opened the door slowly. He was sitting on his bed, guitar in hand, strumming his fingers lightly across the strings. He didn't look up when I came in. He must have thought it was his mom. I stayed in his doorway and cleared my throat.

He finally looked up and his expression changed immediately. His eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and his fingers froze on his guitar strings.

"Bella?" The corners of his mouth lifted up in a slight smile. It was like I was a long lost friend walking back into his life.

"Hi Edward. I'm really sorry for barging in like this, but umm. I just wanted to say thank you. You know. For helping me. The accident."

His face fell. "Oh. No, no of course. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yeah. I guess if you call this okay." I shrugged.

"Do you want to come in?" I realized I was still standing in the doorway.

"Umm sure." I wasn't planning on staying for more than my thank you, but I wouldn't mind talking to my hero a little longer. What could it hurt?

He started strumming on his guitar again.

"I didn't know that you played. That sounds really good."

He looked up and smiled. He was breathtakingly handsome. I'd never noticed before. I felt my heart starting to accelerate.

"Yeah I guess you wouldn't know now would you." He chuckled to himself. It didn't feel like a humorous chuckle.

"What does that mean?" I stared at him.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't…I didn't mean anything by it." His apology seemed genuine enough.

"No, no I'm sorry. I'm just a little touchy about the whole memory issue." I looked down.

"Yeah I was sorry to hear about that. That's terrible."

"You have no idea."

"Well have a seat, tell me about it."

I spent the next half-hour pouring my heart out to this guy I barely knew. I told him about how scared and insecure and just..confused I was about anything and everything in my life. I don't know why, but it felt…right…talking to him. He was a good listener, paying attention to every word I was saying.

"…I mean I didn't even remember a stuffed animal Emmett got for me. How pathetic is that?" I laughed to myself.

Edward didn't say anything. His face looked hard, tense.

"Are you okay? Did I….did I say something?"

"He said he bought that for you?" He said through clenched teeth.

"Yes." Why would Edward care about a stupid stuffed animal?

"Dick." He muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" I stood up. What was his problem?

"I just can't believe this is happening." There was anger in his voice now and I was really starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Edward I'm going to go. I just...I just wanted to thank you so. I'll see ya." I turned and started to head towards the door. I couldn't get out of their fast enough.

I felt his hand grab my arm and spin me around.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. His face was inches from mine.

"You can honestly tell me you don't remember?" I felt his hot breath on my face.

"Remember what?" This had past the point of awkward about five minutes ago.

Before I could react, his lips were crushing against mine. When I could finally tell my hands to move, they flew up to his chest pounding and pushing him away. After a moment he pulled his face back with an expectant look in his eye.

My fingers lifted slowly up to my lips, smoothing over where his had just been.

"I…I have to go." I stuttered as I opened the door and flew out. I heard his mother say goodbye as I ran out the door.

"What the hell was that?!" I screamed into the night as I crossed back over to my own yard.

Just as I suspected my mother didn't even notice my hour-long escapade of taking out the trash.

She muttered a "goodnight" as I headed upstairs and slammed the door behind me.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Emmett!" I said as I spun around. He was sprawled across my bed. "I didn't think you were coming back tonight."

"Where were you Bella?" He stared at me. I stared right back, fully intending on not answering his question. I didn't have to explain myself to him. And I definitely did not want to even attempt to explain what had just happened. Especially because I didn't understand it myself.

"Bella?"

"Emmett I went to thank Edward." He straightened up and started to say something. "I know you told me not to, but it was fine. I just said thank you and that was it."

"That was it?"

"Yes."

He relaxed back onto the bed and curled up with the stuffed animal. It made me think of Edward's question. I still couldn't understand why he would ask about that.

"What are you thinking of?" Emmett questioned.

"What? Oh nothing. I'm just..tired."

"Well come on let's go to bed." He got up briefly and pulled the covers down. We both crawled in and he pulled them up around me before putting his arm around my waist and pulling me close.

"Love you." He kissed my neck.

"You too."

I heard him start to snore not even ten minutes later, but I couldn't turn my mind off. Something just wasn't right. There was something more to this story with Edward. I carefully got out of bed, lifting Emmett's arm off me and replacing my waist with a body pillow.

I hit a key on my computer keyboard and it started humming back to life. I dimmed the screen slightly so it wouldn't wake Emmett up. In the google search engine I typed in the words "accident" and my name. There were several articles about it online. I clicked on the first one and read through it. There must be something…maybe with the accident. I was looking for anything…any little detail that might explain something.

_Seventeen-year-old Edward Cullen stumbled upon the accident while walking down Northridge Road. Swan was unconscious when he arrived. Soon after, two other students, apparently leaving from the party at Swan's house stopped at the accident scene, paramedics arrived moments later. The 911 caller was identified as seventeen-year-old Jasper Hale. Hale and Cullen could not be reached for comment._

Why didn't Edward call the ambulance when he got there? And if the ambulance arrived right after Alice and Jasper, how did they get there so fast? It would have taken at least ten to fifteen minutes from town. It didn't make sense. Something wasn't adding up. Maybe the reporters had it wrong. I read through several other articles but they more or less said the same thing. The paramedics showed up right after Alice and Jasper got there. Jasper would have had to call before he got to the scene to make the story plausible, which would have meant he would have had to know about it before he got there. Did Edward call him? Why would he call him and have him call the paramedics? I shut the computer down and breathed deeply. I was starting to get a headache. I had tried to answer some questions and now I was walking away with even more. I crawled back into bed and told myself to go to sleep. I eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep snuggled up next to Emmett, and with a million questions still left to be answered.


	20. Curse of the Curves

**A/N: So I know the last couple of chapters have been really depressing so thanks for sticking with me. To perk things up this chapter I'm throwing in an R-Pattz quote so be on the lookout. Props to Rob for being the adorable, quotable person we all love. Thanks for all your reviews, keep them coming. XOXO**

**Edward**

"That was so stupid," I muttered to myself as I slammed my head on my desk.

"Rough evening?" Jasper walked into my room without knocking and sat in his usual position in the Lazy Boy.

"I kissed Bella."

"How did that go?" He propped his legs up.

"Terrible. I mean it just kinda happened. She was turning to leave and I just…I couldn't let her walk out. So I went for it. And it turned to hell, like all kisses do."

"Sorry man."

"Jazz I just shouldn't have done that. I don't want to make things worse for her. I don't want to confuse her more than she already is. She's just going through so much." I looked up at him. "But I love her. Real can't breathe without her, would rather fucking die than see her unhappy, or hurt, or…"

"With someone else."

As much as I hated it, it was the truth. I was jealous of Emmett. He had what I wanted more than anything else in the world.

"It's just not fair." My hands fumbled for something to keep them busy. They found the remote for the television and started flipping through the channels.

"It's not bud. At all. And I'm sorry that you're going through it."

"It's just like I'm having this war inside of me. One side is saying just fucking tell her you idiot. Tell her everything. And the other doesn't want to hurt her, because you know it would. I can't imagine waking up tomorrow and not remembering the last few months." It would be more than painful for me not remembering the time I had with her, especially now that memories were all I had at the moment. I just felt overwhelmingly sad about the whole thing.

"I just can't help feeling like it was my fault."

"What was your fault?"

"Bella. The accident."

"Why do you say that?"

"Jazz if I wouldn't have listened to Emmett in the first place, we'd still be together and happy and in one piece. I caused all this."

"Edward stop blaming yourself. First of all Bella's accident was just that…an accident. Secondly, you couldn't have known this was going to happen. And lastly Bella, the woman who loves you, wouldn't want you doing this to yourself. It might feel like she's gone forever, but she's still here. Just give her time to make her grand entrance." He stretched back into the chair. I guess that meant he was staying tonight.

I huffed loudly, turned the light off and fell back into bed.

When I woke up the next morning Jasper was gone, but I heard voices coming from outside. I sat up on my elbows and pulled the curtain back. The instant I did I regretted it. At least I knew where Jasper had jetted off to. Him and Alice were lounging beside Bella's pool. Bella and Emmett were sprawled out on a floating bed in the middle of the pool.

"Great. Just what I need today." I shuffled out of bed and dragged myself to the bathroom to shower. Hopefully they would find some other adventure to go on by the time I got out.

I was sorely disappointed when I returned twenty minutes later. Emmett and Bella had joined Alice and Jasper on the deck. Emmett was taking his time rubbing suntan lotion on Bella's bare back. It was driving me crazy seeing his hands on her. She was smiling and laughing and looking like she was really enjoying herself. Emmett's eyes kept flitting up towards my balcony like he knew I was watching.

"Yeah keep looking up here fuckface."

I decided to play my own little game with him. I grabbed my cigarettes and walked out onto the balcony. I took my time lighting one, keeping my eyes forward. I finally chanced a look sideways. She was looking right at me. I acted like I didn't see her and went back to smoking my cigarette, taking long smooth drags.

When I had finished my cigarette I turned my whole body towards them. Bella noticed immediately and turned to face me. Had she been watching me the whole time?

I smiled a dazzling smile at her.

"Hi Bella!" I yelled, waving at her. She froze like she didn't know if she should say anything back.

Emmett was pissed and I loved it. Jasper shook his head at my tactics and Alice looked to Bella to see what she was going to do next. I didn't want to piss off Alice. She may look little, but she could be absolutely terrifying.

Thankfully Bella smiled at me and waved slightly. She was probably doing it just so she didn't look rude, because after last night I was pretty sure she wasn't on friendly terms with me.

Emmett stared back at her completely confused that she actually responded to me. "What the hell was that Bella?" He splashed her with water to get her attention. Her eyes stared like daggers into mine. I might be paying for this little display later. At least it would get me some more time with her.

"Bella!?"

She finally broke her eye contact with me and turned to face him.

"What?!"

"So what you're friends with him now?"

"No. What I can't say hello to someone? Is that against Emmett's little rules?"

"Geez you would have thought that little bump on your head would have made you smarter…" Emmett muttered. I smiled bigger because I knew that she heard it. And I knowing her, my day was about to get a lot better.

"Oh my gosh Jasper I totally forgot. We need to go. We have that thing to do!" Alice started to gather up her stuff. Jazz looked totally confused.

"What thing?"

"You know. The thing." She grabbed him by his arm and pulled him along. "See ya Bella. Emmett."

Smooth exit Alice.

I started to walk back into my room, but not before I heard the kick to Emmett's groin, the screams that followed, and the humungous splash from him falling into the pool. Once I was safely inside I peeked out my window. He was standing at the back door trying relentlessly to force it open with no success. _Thank God my girl is still in there._ Feeling pretty proud of myself for ruining Emmett's day, I ordered myself a pizza and sat down to have an ice-cold beer. The doorbell rang fifteen minutes later.

Wow that was like record time. I should give him a big tip. I grabbed the money off the counter and skipped to the door, incredibly excited about the deliciousness of the culinary masterpiece I was about to devour.

Bad news. It wasn't my pizza. Even more bad news. It was Bella, and she did not look happy.

She stomped right in my house and went straight up to my bedroom. Maybe this wasn't as bad as I thought.

I followed her in smugly. She set her phone down next to mine and stomped to the middle of my room.

"Are you fucking stupid?" She pushed my chest. Now I see why she needed her hands free.

This was definitely as bad as I thought.

"What?"

"What?! Was that really necessary? Don't get under the false impression that we have some kind of friendship now because we definitely don't. Especially after that shit you pulled last night. What the hell was that about?" She crossed her arms and waited for my answer.

I took a step towards her. She looked incredibly apprehensive, her eyes darting towards the door wondering if she should make a run for it.

My hand reached for the side of her face, caressing it tenderly. She didn't shy away, but she didn't look too comfortable either.

"Do you just go around kissing people and touching people's faces like that all the time?" Her eyes flashed at mine.

"Only with you lover."

She huffed and started angrily towards the door. It was probably crazy, provoking her like this. But to me, it was better to get a reaction even an angry one out of her rather than nothing.

"Later sweetheart."

She froze in her place and grabbed the phone off the desk. I didn't say a word as she flew to the balcony and chucked the phone across the yard. It landed with a large splash.

"There! Ha!"

I smirked at her and laughed.

"Why are you fucking smiling? I just threw your phone in my pool. It's now sitting at the bottom taking on water! And you're laughing?"

"That was your phone Bella."

She looked at the desk, my phone sitting in its usual spot on the edge, and back to the pool, where her phone was now Motorolla's version of the Titanic.

"Agh!" She threw her hands up. "You! This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" I smiled at her and placed my hands on my chest playfully. This was thoroughly entertaining.

"Yes, your fault. You…you provoked me. And now my poor phone is a sponge! You wanna play Edward Cullen? Game on!" She torpedoed out of the room, down the stairs and out the door.

I sat down in my Lazy Boy and stretched out, celebrating my accomplishments today. Now all I needed to make it better was my wonderful pizza that should be arriving any moment. After another ten minutes of relaxing in my chair I decided to head back downstairs so I wouldn't miss the delivery. I cracked a new beer and sat on the couch, checking my watch almost every five minutes. They were starting to push my patience.

I got up and pulled the curtain back. I could see the delivery car heading down the road…in the opposite direction. Where the hell were they going?

The pizza place was on speed dial, so I pushed two and waited for them to answer.

"Fork's Pizza. This is Amy how can I help you?"

"Yeah Hi this is Edward Cullen. I ordered a pizza awhile ago and I just looked out my window and saw the delivery boy driving away and I still haven't got my pizza."

"Okay do we have your information?"

"Yes."

"Let me give the delivery guy a call and see what's up and I'll give you a call back."

"Okay thanks you." I was utterly annoyed. They were killing my Bella buzz.

My mood brightened when I heard splashes coming from the direction of the backyard. I wandered idly upstairs and out on my balcony. Bella was on the edge of the pool, using an extremely long net to try and fish her cell out of the pool. I laughed loudly, on purpose, as I rested my arms gently on the railing. My phone rang before I had a chance to see her reaction.

"Hello?"

"Yeah Edward. This is Amy calling you back. I just talked to our delivery guy and he said it was delivered."

"What do you mean it was delivered? It's not….here." I looked up just then and Bella was staring up at me, smiling from ear to ear and biting into a huge piece of my delicious pizza. I hung up the phone, not bothering to ask where it was delivered.

I nodded towards Bella, acknowledging her skills. Touché Miss Swan. Game on is right.

**Shoutout to Amanda who picked out the song for this chapter. : )**


	21. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

**A/N: Big thanks to all the readers that have stuck with me, you guys are awesome. Also big shoutout to the new readers, I love you guys and thanks for the support!**

**Bella**

In the past two weeks I've had purple jello put into my pool and a massive amount of crickets released into my room. Considering what I'd done to him, I'd take it. The other morning I sat in my kitchen, waiting for him to go out and check the mail. I smiled and took a sip of my steaming hot coffee as he opened his front door, still wearing his robe. He lifted his arms over his head and stretched, letting out a huge yawn as he walked sleepily to the mailbox. His morning was about to get a lot more interesting.

I moved closer to the window as he opened his mailbox and stuck his hand inside. His face went from groggy, to confused, to utterly disgusted. He pulled his hand out, which was now covered in a brown mushy substance.

"Dog shit!" He started rubbing his hand feverously on the grass. An older couple passed by on their morning walk giving him the strangest looks. When he realized he had an audience he turned towards them. "She put dog shit in my mailbox!" he said, trying to rationalize his behavior. The old man laughed, the old woman looked annoyed.

Edward proceeded to wipe the rest of his hand off on the grass. As he straightened back up his eyes flashed to me standing in the window. I sent a smile and a wave his way before walking back up to my room to shower.

That was a good day. If he wanted to play dirty, I'd play. He should know not to mess with someone who can outdo him. My next attack was planned tonight. My mind was still running through my head at dinner, I didn't even realize my mom was talking to me.

"Bella! I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"

"Sorry Mom."

"Now what is this thing you're having with Edward? Some kind of game? I don't think it's a good thing honey. He's an odd boy."

"Mom, it's nothing. We're just having a little….fun."

"Bella I don't like it."

"Relax Mom."

"I am relaxed. I just didn't enjoy cleaning the peanut butter off of our door handle."

I laughed a little. That was a good one. My mother was definitely less than thrilled that I had any kind of "friendship" with Edward, if you could call it that. We went out of the way to make sure we annoyed the shit out of each other, that was a pretty odd friendship if you asked me. Alice saved me from the interrogation when she walked in the front door.

"Alice sweetie, grab a plate." My mom was suddenly inviting and welcoming, all hints of her anger dissipated the second Alice walked in. The rest of dinner went by smoothly and it wasn't until Alice and I were walking up to my room that my thoughts drifted back to my plan for tonight.

I had known from Alice that Jasper and Edward were hanging out at Jasper's house. Apparently Jasper was scared of my retaliations and didn't want to be anywhere near either of our houses. I couldn't blame him.

"Bella this is stupid." Alice was stretched out across my bed flipping through the channels. I was getting my supplies together. I threw my brand new scissors and a few different bobby pins in my bag. Edward had started locking his balcony door since the night I put water balloons in his bed, I needed something to pick the lock.

I listened closely for the sound of Jasper's car pulling up to pick up Edward. Exactly ten minutes after they left I opened my window and started across.

"I'll be right back."

"Yeah, yeah." Alice said flailing her hands at me. "So immature."

I laughed as I made the trek across my roof and across the large tree between our houses. I landed with a thud on his balcony. The lock was feisty, but after the third bobby pin I got it to pop open.

"Excellent." This whole prank war was a little odd and a little immature. But I was having fun. It was more excitement than I'd had in awhile. Or at least I thought so. Who knew what I was up to for the last few months.

I searched the wall for the light switch and flipped it on when I finally found it. I tiptoed over to the first drawer I could see and opened it. Jackpot. With a few quick snips I was done with my job and ready to skedaddle back to my place. I was just closing the door when I heard voices. Voices I should not be hearing right now. Voices that would be really really bad if they were real. They were real. I could hear the footsteps on the stairs.

"Shit! Fuck! Damn!" I searched the room frantically for someplace to hide, there was no way I'd make it to the balcony in time. The voices were right outside the door now. I lunged Chuck Norris style for his halfway open closet and closed it slightly just as Edward and Jasper came in.

"Just like me to spill my drink all over myself the second I get it," Edward said laughing.

"Yeah too bad you're not buff like me or you could have just worn a pair of mine."

I smiled a little to myself. This would be even better than I thought.

Edward pulled a pair of jeans out of the same drawer I'd just been in. Jasper walked out onto the open balcony. _Crap, would Edward notice that it was open?_

"So what do you have planned for her next?" Jasper said from out on the balcony.

"Not sure yet," Edward said as he pulled his jeans down. Damn did he look cute in his boxers. "Although she hasn't pulled anything lately, maybe she's done." _Oh if you only knew._

Edward absentmindedly pulled on his new pair of jeans, throwing his dirty ones into the slightly open closet and hitting me right in the face.

"Okay Jazz I'm good to go, let's split." Edward turned towards his door and started to walk out. I had to suppress a laugh. Jasper however could not hold it in.

"What the hell Edward?"

Edward turned around to face him.

"What?"

"Why'd you cut the ass out of your pants?"

Edward scurried frantically over to the floor length mirror on his closet doors.

"Well fuck me," he said examining the damage.

"Someone easily could with you walking around like that," Jasper said still laughing.

"I thought it felt a little breezy."

"She's good."

"Very good."

He walked sullenly over to his drawer again, but I had a feeling he knew what he would find. The asses of all of jeans were mysteriously M.I.A. and just happened to be in the bag I was carrying on my back. I was planning on leaving them all scattered across the lawn. He'd look even funnier if he tried to have them sewn back on.

"Well I guess it's sweatpants for tonight," he felt around in the next drawer and pulled out some navy blue sweatpants.

"How long are you going to let this go on Edward?" Jasper was suddenly serious. What was he so upset about? We were just having a little fun.

"What?"

"What? You don't find this whole thing a little weird, with everything that happened this summer."

I leaned closer, suddenly intrigued by their conversation.

"I can't lose her Jazz. I can't."

I leaned closer and closer to the opening in the door so I could hear better. What was he talking about?

Unfortunately my clumsy side had other plans. My foot twisted around Edward's newly soiled pants and caused me to lose my balance and fall forward into the closet. I winced as I heard the loud thud of my body smashing against the door. Maybe they didn't hear that. Who was I kidding, Alice probably heard that next door.

"What the hell was that?" Edward said.

"Sounded like a dead body," Jasper laughed. I heard him coming closer and I closed my eyes, waiting for all hell to break loose. The closet door screeched back, letting in some light from the room. "Oh it's just Bella."

After a moment to regain what dignity I had left, which wasn't much, I looked up. Edward's face looked like he had seen a ghost and Jasper was trying to suppress a smile.

"Hi," I said standing up and brushing myself off.

They didn't say anything.

"Okay well I'm just going to go now…Yep." I started towards the balcony.

Edward cleared his throat.

"Bella you cut the ass out of all my jeans. I'd like them back please."

I was so embarrassed by what had just happened, I didn't want to prolong it further. I flung my bag at him before making a b-line for the tree. I was breathing heavily by the time I reached my room.

"Geez what took you so long? You missed a whole episode of Golden Girls."

I didn't answer. I was still waiting for my breathing to return to normal.

"Bella?"

"That was just all kinds of bad."

Alice leaped off the bed. "Why what happened?!"

"Well I was in there, ya know. Doing my thing...AND THEY FRICKING WALKED BACK IN!"

"They walked back in? What'd you do?"

"I flew into the closet!"

"Well…did they hear you? What happened?"

"No they didn't hear me…" She let out a breath of relief. "Until I fell out of the closet."

"Oh Bella. You and your two left feet." She shook her head. "What did you say, what'd they do?"

"I said 'Hi'."

"Hi?"

"Yep. 'Hi'. And then I just got up and walked out."

"Well I'm sure I'll hear about this tomorrow from Jasper."

"I'm sure you will." I had no emotion in my voice. I was fairly used to being humiliated by my lack of coordination. At least I'd gotten my work done before I'd hit the carpet.

Alice left a few hours later. I tried to go to sleep, but my head was full of questions again. What were Edward and Jasper talking about? He said he wouldn't lose me. When did he ever have me? Everything was so confusing. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't hear Jasper and Edward laughing to themselves as they crept across my lawn, bucket and flour in hand. I didn't hear them place the bucket above my front door, or the open bag of flour above that. I didn't hear them rigging the contraption to fall when the door was opened. I did however, hear my mother's piercing screams the next morning when she tried to leave for work at 6 a.m.

"Bella! Get your scrawny ass down here! Right! Now!"

I sighed and dragged myself out of bed. My mother was standing at the bottom of the stairs with little flour footsteps leading from the front door. Her hair was so wet it was sticking to her cheek. The flour had created a pasty chunky mix that clumped in her wet hair, her nose, and down the front of her shirt.

"I'll get you a towel." I shuffled lazily to the linen closet and grabbed our rattiest towel. I threw it down the stairs, letting it fall on top of her head, and went back to my room ready to plan retaliation. This had to be good. Better than the assless pants, better than the shit in the mailbox. This had to be epic, especially due to the thorough verbal abuse I was sure to suffer later for his latest incident. And Jasper was involved in this one. Sorry Alice, your boyfriend just got involved in this. I sneered across the lawn at Edward's dark room. They were probably sound asleep, both dreaming and completely content. Actually they'd probably be sleeping for hours. Hours. I ran down the stairs and peeked out into his driveway. Jasper's car was parked in his usual spot. Edward had a car, but it was a junker Volvo, Jasper's sweet little vintage car was their go-to ride. I smiled and ran upstairs to my room, searching my desk for the stink bombs I'd bought last April Fool's Day. I was relieved to find I still had a few left. Before heading outside I grabbed the brand new roll of Saran Wrap my mom had bought from the store.

I inched towards Jasper's car, keeping my eye on the house. Still watching the front door, my hand reached out to the door handle. Unlocked. This was too easy. I pulled the release on the stink bomb and threw it in, closing the door quickly but quietly behind it. To make sure none of the smell escaped I started wrapping the Saran Wrap tightly around the car. I made sure to get all the possible ventilation spots around the car. I didn't want the smelly goodness getting out.

I walked back to my house, feeling like a good day's work was already done. With my curtains pulled back and my feet propped up, I waited patiently for my boys to come out and smell the…roses.


	22. The Blower's Daughter

**A/N: I just wanted to get you guys excited..there is a little bit of romance in this chapter…just a little bit of fluff to keep you going. So enjoy. P.S. reviews are better than seeing Edward is his assless jeans. XOXO**

"Edward? What happened to your pants?"

My mom was taking turns holding up each pair of my jeans. She looked down at the pile of denim asses on the floor.

"I had a little…never mind. Listen can you fix them?" There was no way in hell I was paying for that many new jeans.

"You want me to…fix them?"

"Yeah do what you have to do."

"Okay…" She walked away completely puzzled.

Jasper finally started stirring in his chair.

"Dude did you hear her screams early this morning!? It was awesome!"

"Ten bucks says it was her mom. Bella wouldn't be up that early."

"Well…fuck." He looked genuinely disappointed. I think he enjoyed our little bout of mischief last night.

"Man I'm hungry," I said stretching out. I looked at the clock. It was 2 in the afternoon. I was surprised my mom hadn't woken us up earlier.

"Food run?" He nodded towards the door.

"Hell yes. Let's do it." I jumped out of bed and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Mom we're going to get some food, be right back." She was sitting in the living room doing God knows what to try and fix my pants. I didn't even know if there was any hope for them.

I noticed it first. As I walked towards Jasper's car it looked a little...shinier than usual.

"Jazz did you wax Betty?"

"No."

"Then why is she…well…like that?"

He saw it then. His eyes got real big like he'd just seen his puppy get hit by a car.

"WHAT! THE! FUCK!" He ran towards his precious Betty, arms outstretched and mouth gaping open. "That little BITCH!"

I started peeling back the layers of plastic. She's got balls. Everyone knew you didn't mess with Jasper's car. Not if you wanted to live a long and pain free life.

Jasper stopped just as he'd gotten all the plastic off of his side and stuck his nose in the air.

"What is that smell?"

I kept on unwrapping. "I don't know, probably just a skunk or something."

"Oh." He walked around to the front of the car. "She even did the front. I can't believe this." She was thorough, I'd admit that.

We finally got all the plastic off of Betty. That skunk smell was getting stronger.

"Dude let's get out of here before we get sprayed by whatever is causing this." Jasper swatted in front of his face, as if to clear the smell from his nose and dove inside his car. I followed him in hopes of missing a face-to-face encounter with a skunk. Bad decision. Bad, bad decision.

"Jazz. I think the skunk is your car. Your car is the skunk."

He had an unmistakable look of disgust on his face. I was just trying to hold in the vomit as I ejected myself from the car. Jasper followed a few seconds later, carrying a used stink bomb.

"I carried the bucket! I carried the damn bucket and looked what she did to Betty! Look!"

"Look? I don't need to look I can smell!" I was still plugging my nose, hoping I wouldn't have to smell that rank odor again. Jasper closed all the doors and backed away.

"Bikes?" He questioned.

"Bikes."

"SHOTGUN!" This was our bike version of the car game. There were only two bikes in my garage: my very manly mountain bike, and my mother's pink bike, which was fully equipped with a white basket, pink and white streamers, and a little bell that chimed in the wind.

"I'm not riding bitch, they're my bikes."

"She stink bombed my car man," Jasper pleaded. I did kind of drag him into this.

"Okay fine, but we're stopping by the first place we come up on. No exceptions."

Jasper grabbed my bike as I reached for my mom's. It was about two sizes too small for me. My knees grazed the handlebars as I started to ride down the road. I lit a cigarette before deciding how ridiculous that must have looked. Chancing a glance at Bella's house, I could see her perched in front of the window, her head thrown back in laughter. I vowed right then and there, on my pink bike, streamers soaring in the wind, cigarette hanging on my lips that tonight I was breaking out my "A" game. Tonight was the big one. She wasn't going to have any idea what hit her. And then it'd be over, and hopefully it would turn out like it's supposed to. Me and her together again.

We passed Emmett on the way to get food. He must have been heading to Bella's.

"So. What's your big idea for tonight?" Jasper said, taking a bite of his Big Mac.

"Oh I have plans my friend, they just don't involve you."

"Wh-? She skunked my car Edward, I can't not get her back."

"Oh yes you can. And you will. Tonight is my night. I'm gonna make it happen." I rubbed my hands together in excitement.

"Just be careful buddy. I'm sure Emmett will shit if he sees you two together. Good thing he doesn't know about your current "situation" with her."

"Emmett won't be a problem tonight. Carlisle and him are heading out tonight so they can go golfing all day tomorrow. They're staying in a hotel about sixty miles from here."

"And how do you know all this?"

"I have my ways." I shoved the last of my fries into my mouth. "Ready?"

When we got back to my house, Jasper took off in his stinker car. I gave him some money to go get it cleaned. I mean it was that way because of me and it was important to him. Plus I didn't think Alice would ever ride in it again, and I would never hear the end of it.

I spent the next couple of hours hanging out with my mom while she sewed the asses back into my jeans. They looked fucking weird, I won't lie. There was a very distinguishable seam in an oval shape, practically framing my ass.

As the moon started to rise I headed upstairs to prepare for the night. Tonight was important. No more bullshitting, no more fooling around. I was going to get her back. Tonight.

I listened, waiting to hear Emmett's truck leave. It did around 7:30, and I sat at my window watching for her to come back to her room. She walked in, closed the door behind her, and started running her fingers through her hair. God she was so beautiful, and she didn't even try.

She sat down at her desk, which was located right in front of the window, in my direct line of sight. I sat watching her as she typed away on her computer or took a sip of her glass of water.

She suddenly looked up at me. I didn't flinch, or pretend like I wasn't watching her. I just stared back. She looked annoyed at first and reached her hand up to shut her curtain, but she stopped. She must have seen the sincerity in my face, or at least I hoped she did. Keeping my eyes on her, I sat at my desk, which was essentially parallel to hers. She went back to her computer and I took out my notebook and started writing. Every now and then we'd steal glances at each other. Hers were mostly sneaky, from under her long lashes, but they were definitely there. I was less subtle. Every couple of minutes I would bring my whole head up to look at her, my hand resting under my chin. I had her attention. Good.

I reached over and turned my light off, testing her reaction. The next time her eyes flitted up to my window they widened. She squinted briefly, searching for me. After a moment she looked down quickly, shaking her head as if she was embarrassed she was searching my dark window.

I grabbed my guitar and walked out on the balcony. My breath quickened. I was more nervous than I'd ever been in my life, even more than when I played in front of all those people at the Deb ball. I guess it was because none of them really mattered, but now I was about to play for the one and only person who ever mattered to me. I was scared shitless.

I sat down in the corner of the balcony, facing towards her window. She was still sitting at her desk, fiddling around on her computer. She didn't look up now; she thought I'd gone to bed. Luckily one of her windows was still open.

It was warm outside. The moon was the largest I'd ever seen it with no clouds in sight. I took a deep breath and started strumming. She looked up slightly at the soft sounds, but after a moment put her head back into her work. She probably thought she was imagining it. When I started to sing along, her eyes shot up and towards my house. Her mouth fell open as she listened to more of my serenade. I watched as she slowly stood up from her desk and walked over to her open window, keeping her eyes on my house as long as was humanly possible.

Her head was soon sticking out the window. I didn't know my face was illuminated enough in the moonlight that she could see me, but she could definitely hear me. I started to get even more nervous as she crawled out the window and over her roof, and across our tree to step onto my balcony. This had been what I wanted all night, but now that it was here I was terrified that it wasn't going to work out the way I wanted.

She sat in the corner opposite me, keeping her eyes on mine the entire time. She almost looked at me like…like she loved me again. But I was sure it was just my heart seeing what it wanted to see.

We were both silent for several minutes after I'd strummed the last chord. She had broken eye contact with me as soon as it ended and didn't look at me again until she spoke.

"No devious plan for tonight?" She smiled a little.

"How do you know this isn't part of my devious plan?" The corners of my mouth pulled up into the crooked smile that I knew she loved so much.

Her hair was amazing in this light. Her face, her eyes, her everything was beautiful with just a little hint of light touching them. She just looked so…soft.

I was about to speak, but she interrupted me.

"Edward, I need to ask you about the night of the accident."

This was going in a completely different direction than I had planned.

"Ummm…okay. What did you need to know?"

"You found me?"

This was difficult. I never really wanted to think about that night again. That was the worst night of my life.

"Yes," I said in a strained voice.

"But Jasper called 911."

Damn she read the newspaper. I knew she was smart enough to know everything didn't add up.

"Yes."

She didn't say anything, I took that as my cue to continue.

"What all do you want to know?"

"Everything."

Everything? Well where should I start, back at our first night on the roof, or at her dad's, or the night of the ball.

"I just. I just want to know what happened that night."

I decided maybe tonight wasn't the best night to air everything out, but since she was asking about the night of the accident I would tell her.

"I was getting ready to leave on a trip I was planning on taking. While I was packing I heard this big…bang. I thought it was just Emmett lighting off firecrackers down the road, you know how he does." I looked down at my hands. "Alice came rushing in and said that you'd taken your car and rushed off. And I knew right then that it wasn't firecrackers. It was you. You were the big crash I'd heard." I heard her breath halt. "So I told Jasper to call 911 and ran to you. I still can't get the picture out of my head."

"Edward I don't understand. Where was I going? And why would Alice come to you, why not Emmett?"

"It's complicated."

She crossed her arms and leaned back into the railing.

"I can't remember months of my life, I'm complicated."

"You were…coming after me Bella. You thought that I'd already left."

She scooted closer to me, our knees were touching now. She brought her face within inches of mine.

"Why?"

I looked up into her big brown eyes. Big mistake. I lost all train of thought, all rationale. I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Her eyes were wide with shock when I pulled back, but she didn't say anything. She wrapped her arm around the back of my neck and pulled me in for another, but this time she was kissing me back. Her legs came to rest on either side of my waist as she pulled herself onto my lap. I've missed this. Feeling her warmth on my skin. It was like heaven right here on earth.

My hand floated to the small of her back and started slowly working its way up the back of her shirt, feeling her soft skin. Her one hand stayed at the back of my neck, the other rose up and felt along my jaw line and down my chest. I could feel the warm tears running slowly down her face.

Then I felt it. Her phone was ringing. Her mouth froze on mine. I opened my eyes as she pulled away from my face and reached down to grab her phone.

"Emmett," she answered out of breath. That dick. He was a cockblocker of love even when he wasn't physically here to cockblock. She didn't move from my lap during the whole conversation. Apparently he was calling to tell her that he and Carlisle were coming back, since a thunderstorm was going to be rolling in at any minute and the green wouldn't be suitable for play tomorrow. I looked up and saw the dark clouds on the horizon. Damn the weather.

"Wait who's having a party? Josh??" She took her hand from my neck and placed it on her forehead. "Yeah. Okay, okay. What time? Okay I'll be ready. Yeah. Bye."

She wouldn't look at me.

I brought my hands up to cup her face tenderly. "Bella?"

"I…Edward I have to go I'm sorry. I'm just so...confused right now. I shouldn't have done that. I'm…I'm so so sorry." She got up abruptly and went back to her place.

I saw her look herself over in her mirror before applying some makeup and running a comb through her hair.

What the hell was I thinking? That she would just magically remember me, remember everything we had. I was foolish to get my hopes up. I was angry. I wasn't angry with her, or even with myself, I was just…angry. I got up and went inside.

"Mom! I need to talk to you!"


	23. Always

**Bella**

"You look pretty babe," Emmett leaned down and gave me a kiss.

"Thanks. Sorry things didn't work out for you and your dad."

"Oh it's okay. I'd rather spend time with you. Plus I was bummed I was missing this party." He slung his arm around my shoulder as we were walking into Josh's house. It was a large blue two-story house, practically a mansion just like most of our friends. I was almost getting bored of the whole thing. Same parties with the same people.

The rain had started pouring down hard on our way over here. Apparently we were under a flash flood warning or something, we weren't even really supposed to be on the roads. I told Emmett we should go home, but he insisted that we come.

The house was absolutely packed, wall to wall people. This was one of the times I was glad Emmett was so…large. I walked behind him as he cleared a path in the sea of people and made my way over to the refreshment table. I grabbed myself a drink and settled into the couch to observe Emmett and Eric play a game of beer pong.

"Hey sexy!" Alice plopped down next to me, obviously already a few drinks in.

"Alice! I'm so glad you're here!" I wrapped my arms around her. Drunk or not, I needed to talk to her about what the hell just happened. That is if I could even explain what just happened.

I was perfectly content sitting at my desk, doing some research, but I could practically feel his eyes on me. I couldn't resist sneaking some glances at him. I told my eyes not to do it, just like I told my legs not to move. Not to get up, not to go out the window, or crawl across the tree. Just like I told my lips not to kiss him. None of them listened. I looked up at him, I went to his balcony, I kissed him. I'd done all those things and I couldn't explain why. I had this unbelievable,inexplicable pull to him. It was almost like gravity, unavoidable. It didn't make sense, it was completely illogical and crazy, but there was no doubt it was there.

"Drink up bitch! That's game!" Emmett said as he gave high fives to the crowd gathered around him.

"Alice." I nudged her arm. She was zoned out on Jasper again, who was leaning against the wall across the room talking to another kid from school. She licked her lips and he ran his fingers through his hair and took a sip from his drink. He finally looked over and his eyes got big when he saw me. This wasn't a good sign. He obviously wasn't too happy with me after what I did to his car. He set his jaw and said "Excuse me" to whoever he was talking to, planting a hand on their chest and heading straight for us.

"Alice. Bathroom?"

"Yep." She gulped hard and her hand flew up to her mouth. Thank God for Alice and her vomit timing.

I ran her all the way to the bathroom, narrowly escaping Jasper's wrath. Once you tell a line of waiting people you've got a puker, they really clear the way. I think Lauren learned the hard way last year when she tried to get in the way, claiming she was next in line. She left the party with puke matted in her hair.

I rubbed Alice's back as she let it all out. Twenty minutes later I could tell she was already feeling better.

"Alice I did something…really bad tonight."

"Ha. What big prank did you pull on him this time? Change all his boxers out for thongs?" At least she was speaking in full, coherent sentences instead of one word answers that were slurred and hard to decipher.

"I kissed Edward."

"WHAT?...Where? When? How did this happen?" Her head popped up.

"Tonight on his balcony."

"What were you doing on his balcony?"

"I don't know," I said frustrated. "I was just minding my own business, on my computer and then he had to break out the guitar and do a moonlight serenade. It was like he was singing to me, only to me. Like he was _my_ singer."

Alice sat up and leaned back against the wall.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I mean I'm obviously confused about the last few months, but I don't understand this…attraction I have to him. It's like I'm not even in control of it."

"Bella…I should probably tell you something." She looked nervous.

"What is it?"

"Something that happened. These last few months. You and-" Her head was instantly back in the toilet.

There was a bang on the door.

"Bella? Are you in there?" Emmett. Leave it to him and vomit to ruin the moment.

"Yeah Em, Alice isn't..feeling very well. I'm just making sure she's okay. We'll be out in a minute."

After another round of puking, Alice hopped up, completely revitalized.

"You know?" She said. "Sometimes you just feel a hell of a lot better after you just puke it out. Let's go get another drink." She intertwined our arms and started to skip out the door. Emmett was blocking our way and he didn't look happy.

"Bella I need to talk to Alice."

He took her forcefully by the arm and dragged the both of them around the corner, into the next hallway. I tiptoed closer, wanting to eavesdrop. I had a feeling this had to do with me.

"I was standing right outside the door Alice. You were going to tell her!"

"You know what Emmett. Maybe she has a right to know! It is her life."

I chanced a peek around the corner. Emmett had Alice cornered, his arms trapped her between him and the wall.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your damn mouth shut!" He pounded against the wall with his fist then grabbed her shoulders. Alice shuddered back.

I flew around the corner.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" I tried to push Emmett away from Alice. "Get off of her!"

I felt a stronger pair of hands replace mine.

"I swear to God Emmett, if you don't take your hands off of her, you'll be replacing them." Jasper was completely calm in his order, but at the same time I'd never been more scared of him.

Emmett threw his hands up in front of him, releasing Alice.

"What is it that she's not allowed to tell me Emmett?"

He grabbed my arm. "We're leaving."

I tried to protest but he was too strong. Before I knew it he had whisked me out to his truck and we were driving down Josh's driveway out to the road.

"Emmett. Tell me what's going on."

He stared straight ahead.

"Emmett!"

Still nothing.

I gave up and sat back in my seat. The silence was uncomfortable. He must have noticed it too because he reached down and starting flipping through the radio stations.

_Green Day, The Beatles, Rihanna…_

"Wait! Go back!" My whole body froze.

"Why? It's just that stupid Bon Jovi song. Cheesiest damn song I've ever heard in my life." He continued flipping through the channels.

"Do it!" I flashed my eyes at him, willing him to turn it back. He finally gave in and turned it back. I knew this song. I'd always known it, loved it. Why did it feel different now? I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the seat singing along in my head. My eyes flew open.

Edward. The roof. Bon Jovi.

My breathing became fast and shallow.

Charlie's. The Barn. The fair.

My hand flew up to my mouth.

The Deb ball. The…drugs. The night of the accident.

"Oh my God," I whispered. The tears welling up in my eyes were about to burst.

"What now?!" Emmett tapped his hand on the steering wheel, annoyed.

I turned my head slowly towards him.

"You. You bastard!" I started punching him. The truck swerved into the other lane.

"Bella! What the hell?!" He pulled the car over to the side of the road. The rain was pounding so hard on the roof of the truck that normally I wouldn't be able to hear myself think, but for the first time in a long time, my mind was completely clear.

"You knew. This whole time. You knew!" I pushed against his chest again.

"What?" He tried to restrain my hands.

"I remember Emmett!" The tears were streaming down my face as I tried to get the words out. "I remember…everything! How could you?! You saw what I was going through and how lost I was and you just sat there and let it happen, and you knew the truth. I hate you!"

He sighed.

"Bella don't be so dramatic. You know you would have come crawling back to me anyway."

"I want to get out."

My hand reached for the door handle. I couldn't take this anymore. There was no way I was staying in this car with him. I tugged at it with no success. It was locked. I saw him press the child lock as I reached to unlock the door.

"Emmett let me out of this fucking car." I screamed it with all my strength.

"No. You're acting crazy."

"You think this is crazy?" My voice broke. I reached blindly into the backseat of his truck and eventually found what I was looking for.

The baseball bat was fairly affective at breaking the window. I cleaned the sharp edges of the bottom ledge before crawling out feet first.

"What the FUCK Bella? You just broke my window!"

"You wouldn't let me out! It's your own fault dick!"

"You know what?" He said pointing a finger at me. "Fuck you!" With a screech of his tires he was gone and I was left in the downpour. I could barely see the road, I couldn't tell if it was because of the rain or if my eyes were blurry from all the crying.

I started walking in the direction that we had been driving, assuming it was the way home.

I couldn't believe this was happening. It had been Edward, all along. I was in love with him. I felt it in its entirety now, so much that it hurts. I couldn't stand to be apart from him. I had to be with him, I had to tell him everything. That I love him, and I need him, and I'm sorry about everything. Before I knew it I was running. Familiar buildings started rushing past me, I knew I was getting close to our street. I felt myself begin to smile through the tears, knowing that I was going to see him and be in his arms again, for real. Always.

As I turned down our street, the rain started coming down harder, but I picked up the pace. I couldn't wait any longer.

His porch light was still on. I thought about just running in, but I stopped just short of ramming the door and knocked. I was still crying, but now they were tears of joy. I haven't felt this happy since before the accident, before the whole ordeal with Edward and Emmett, not since it'd just been me and him.

I knocked again, getting impatient. I turned, peeking around his house to look up at his room. His light was on.

I heard the door open and I swung around with a large grin on my face.

"Bella?"

"Elizabeth! I need to talk to Edward, can I come in?"

"Of course you can come in sweetheart but,-"

I didn't listen to what she was saying, I was already darting up the stairs and into his room. It was empty. Actually it looked a little more empty than I remembered. Maybe my memory wasn't as great as I thought. There were no dirty clothes on the floor, no shoes strewn by the door. His wallet wasn't in its usual place on his dresser. Had Jasper called him? Was he looking for me? I smiled at the thought as I sat down on his bed.

Elizabeth walked into the room with a sad look on her face.

"He's gone Bella."

"Okay I'll just wait here for him if that's okay." I laid back and ran my fingers across his comforter. I thought back to that first night I had stayed over here. And how it felt to wake up in his arms. It felt good, to remember those things.

"Bella you can't wait for him."

"What do you mean?" I sat up.

"He...left. I don't know for how long. He just said that he needed to get away and he left. Only about ten minutes ago sweetie, you just missed him. I'm so sorry."

He's gone? I felt my chest tighten as my tears of joy reverted to tears of pain and anguish. I ran down the stairs and out the door back into the rain, where I stood in the downpour for several minutes before reaching down for my phone and dialing his number. Straight to voicemail, he must not have it on.

"Edward. Please. Please call me back, it's important." I said through the sobs. As I hung up, my finger was already dialing Jasper's number.


	24. Always Pt 2

**A/N: Get excited guys! I have a feeling you will like this chapter..its oozing with yummy goodness : ) XOXO**

**Edward**

"Mom! I need to talk to you!"

I bounded down the stairs in three giant steps.

"What's wrong?" She stood up from her chair. Her forehead wrinkled in concern. I knew that she had been worried about me since the accident, but it was really starting to take its toll on her.

"I need to talk to you about…about Bella."

"Okay." She sat back down and patted the spot next to her. I took it and looked down at my feet.

"Mom I thought that this would all work out. That everything would be okay. That it had to be because…" I laughed. "Because I thought we were meant to be together. It's so stupid." I shook my head and laughed again.

"It's not stupid baby." Her arm wrapped around my shoulder. Before I knew it I was leaning into her, crying as she patted my back. "I saw you two together. You were made for each other. Sometimes life just gets in the way. You may just have to wait it out, and I know that sounds terrible but sweetheart?" I looked up. "Isn't she worth the wait?," she asked as she placed her finger under my chin.

I realized that my Mom was right, like all moms are. It was foolish of me to push her like that. We were meant to be together, and I knew…or at least I hoped and prayed with all of my broken heart that we would be. But there was no way in hell I was sticking around here for the next few weeks before school started to see her make nice with Emmett. It would drive me crazy.

"Mom I need to go away for a little bit. Probably until school starts. I can't handle seeing her…with him. Not now. Not after everything we went through together. It would break my heart more than it already is."

Her breath caught in her throat before an expression of understanding spread across her face.

Without a word she got up and went into the kitchen, reaching her hand into the cookie jar. She pulled something out of it and came back to the living room. Her hand reached out to mine, holding a huge wad of cash.

"Go," she smiled and nodded towards the door.

"Mom I can't take that. We're saving remember? Disney World?" She and I both chuckled. It was a pact we had made a few years ago. Neither of us had ever been, and both of us were too embarrassed to admit that we wanted to go, so we were saving up the money so we could go together. Sort of like an overdue family vacation. We'd never had the money to do that type of thing ever before.

"Please take it Edward. I want you to."

I reluctantly reached out my hand and took the money, depositing it in my back pocket. I stood up and embraced my mother, giving her a tender kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs. I threw everything I could find in a duffel bag, set my toothbrush on the top and zipped it up. I gave my mom one last hug before I disappeared into the garage. I flung my bag into the backseat as I started the engine.

I guess I didn't realize it'd been raining so hard. I set my wipers on high, trying to see through the drops. This was insane. I had to slow down by about half to even see the road in front of me.

As I passed through the edge of town, I saw a figure up ahead in the road, running on the opposite side. Who the hell would go out running in this mess? I laughed as the figure ran by.

The silence was irritating so I flipped the radio station. Of course there was nothing good on. I hated the radio. I turned it back off and grabbed my IPod out of my bag and the adapter from the glove compartment, I connected it to the dashboard and hit shuffle.

_You've got to be shitting me,_ I thought as the first song came on. Why did the IPod Gods have to torture me? Bon Jovi…really? I let out an agitated huff but didn't turn the song. Even though it made me sad and angry, it made me feel closer to her. Even if this was all I had of her now, I would take it. Any piece of her, no matter how little or how seemingly insignificant was better than a world without any of her at all. My hand reached down and hit a button, setting it on repeat.

The tears started running down my face the third time the song played. All of my time with her was playing out like a movie in my head. Every touch, every look, every kiss. It was heartbreaking.

I was just about to cross the bridge a few minutes outside of town when I saw police flashers in front of me. My mind flew back to the night of the accident. Ambulance. Bella. Loss. I shook the thoughts away and slowed down. A policeman with a bright orange vest on and flashlight was waving me down. I rolled down my window and peered out into the downpour.

"What's going on officer?"

"Sir we've got some serious flooding going on up by the bridge." He nodded down the road. "I'm afraid we had to close it because of the dark. It should be reopened tomorrow morning at dawn. Sorry for the inconvenience."

It was a great inconvenience, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"No, no problem. Thanks officer." I guess I'd have to endure one more night in town and leave as early as possible tomorrow. I did a U-turn and started heading back towards town, following the curvy roads back to civilization. Suddenly from around a curve another car barreling at me, going towards the blockade.

"Good luck getting through buddy," I whispered to myself as I pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

I stared at the car as it zoomed past me. I heard the sound of screeching tires and I looked back to see the car had attempted to do a U-turn as well, but had taken it a little too fast and ended up spinning out on the pavement. I didn't think they were hurt, but I pulled my car over to the side of the road and got out to check on them.

I started running towards the car. The driver's side opened and the driver got out the car.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Stupid idiot driver. I put my hand up to my forehead, shielding my eyes from the rain.

The figure started running towards me, and I froze when I recognized them.

"Bella?! What the hell were you doing? Don't you remember that you were in a very serious car accident?

Her hair was sopping wet, clinging all around her face..

"I remember!" She shouted.

"Well then why were you driving like a complete psycho?"

"No Edward…I remember." She walked closer to me and placed her hands on my chest. "Everything."

I tried to speak but I couldn't. It all came out in a stutter. "W-wh. How?"

"All I needed was a little Bon Jovi to help me find my way back."

"Remind me to thank him," I said as I pulled her in for a kiss. The rain was still pouring down all around us, but in my head we were back on the riverbank at Charlie's kissing in the sunlight.

After about ten minutes, we finally pulled back from each other, but I refused to release her from my arms and she didn't try to pull away.

"I'm never letting you go again," I whispered into her ear.

"Okay good. Cause I'd kick your ass."

Another car came around the curve.

"Stay here, I'll be right back."

I ran back to the car she had been driving, that was now horizontal, blocking the road. I quickly jumped in and realized that it was Jasper's car. I pulled it up behind mine on the side of the road and jumped back out. Bella was already inside my car, sitting in the back seat. I slinked in to sit beside her and pulled her to my chest.

"How did you find me?" I nuzzled into her hair.

"I ran to your house. After I broke Emmett's car window. And I spoke to your mom and she said that you left. So I took a chance and chose the road I thought you would take."

"Smart girl."

"I am. Where were you going Edward?"

I sighed heavily.

"I was…upset about our little situation. I just wanted to get away from all of it. Especially before school started. I didn't quite know how well I was going to handle that."

"I'm sorry," she tipped her head down.

"Babe don't be sorry. I couldn't be happier right now." I lifted her eyes up to meet mine. "So," I said with a laugh. "Tell me about how you broke Emmett's window. This sounds interesting."

"Well we were at that party. And Alice was about…to tell me…something. Oh my gosh, she was going to tell me about you and me. That's why Emmett stopped her." Her hand flew up to her mouth. "That stupid prick!"

I laughed at her outburst.

"Anyway," she continued. "We left and he turned on the radio and I heard…I heard the song…our song. And I didn't know why I was so drawn to it so I laid my head back and listened. And then just like bam!" She clapped her hands together. "Everything was suddenly flashing through my head. Our time on the roof, and our time at Charlie's…and everything that happened when we got home" She winced.

"Bella about that I'm so sorry. I was so stupid and played into Emmett and Rosalie's little game. I was an idiot."

She looked up at me with a serious face. "It's done now….Never again."

"Never again," I whispered as I entwined my fingers in hers and kissed her gently.

She was smiling when I pulled away. "I never get immune to your kiss. You completely intoxicate me everytime."

I kissed her again.

"So the window. How did it meet its untimely death?"

"Oh!" She said excitedly. "You won't believe this. That idiot wouldn't let me out of the damn car! I was screaming and yelling at him and he put the fucking child lock on, which was a bad move on his part. So I grabbed the baseball bat from the backseat of his truck and smashed the window. He should have just let me out when he had the chance, would have saved him a lot of grief."

My head flew back in laughter. I could only imagine Emmett's face as Bella went all Britney Spears on his window.

"So then you ran all the way to my house?" It suddenly clicked in my head that she was probably the runner I was laughing at.

"Yeah and I completely panicked when your mom said you'd left. But I made up my mind to go and find you. That turned problematic when I realized that my car was still a heap of scrap metal sitting down at the junkyard so I called Jasper. And he agreed to let me use Betty if I thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed her.

"Ha. That seems like a pretty fair trade off. That car was rank thanks to you."

"Teaches people not to mess with me."

I laughed and pulled her closer. She planted kisses up and down my jaw. I couldn't believe this was happening. It was amazing. I was never going to give up on us, but there was a small part of me that thought this would never happen. That she would never remember me, or what we had.

"Do you still have to go away?" She buried her face in my chest.

"I have no reason to now."

She sighed. "I wish we could both just…run away. Leave for awhile. I'm not ready to get back to the real world yet. I could stay here in this car with you forever."

"Well then let's do it."

She pulled her face back and looked at me with a strange look.

"Stay in the car forever?"

"No. Let's just…go. We can both go on my trip. Take a little vacation before school starts, but a real vacation. No Renee, no Emmett, no Charlie, no Bruskey..even though we love them, well the last two anyway. Just us."

She smiled and hopped into the front seat.

"Where are we going?" she said as she pulled the map out.

"Wherever we want to love."

She closed her eyes and let her finger hover in circles over the map. It suddenly plunged down, marking a spot. She looked down to see where it landed and then held up the map to my face as I crawled back into the front seat.

I nodded as I put the car in drive, leaving the world and everyone else behind us.


	25. Best Days Elsewhere

**A/N: Okay guys this chapter is a little different than one I've done before, but it seemed right so I went with it. I usually do a full chapter in one POV, but I changed POV several times in this chapter. I also combined the songs for the chapter as well to make one title. Hope you enjoy XOXO**

**Bella**

We drove for hours and hours. My legs were cramped and my butt was falling asleep but I didn't care. The only feelings that mattered were Edward's hand wrapped around mine and the warmth I felt in my heart when he smiled his beautiful smile at me.

I fell asleep to the sound of him humming along to the sound on the radio. When I woke up we were parked in front of a Wal-Mart.

I sat up, still groggy from my nap. "Where are we? What time is it?"

"It's 1 a.m. and we're at a Wal-Mart in the middle of nowhere. Leave it to you to send us to the least populated city I've ever been in. It's worse than Charlie's. The only person I've seen was a man named Hank who asked if I could give him directions to Oz because he wanted to ask the wizard for a bottle of rum."

"Awesome. So why are we at Wal-Mart?"

"Well that would be because you have no supplies for our little get away love."

I smiled and leaned into him. "I don't think I'll be needing any clothes," I whispered into his ear.

He laughed. "Regardless. I can't have you walking around in the same outfit, no matter how little you have it on. And plus you need a toothbrush and we need supplies to keep us occupied."

I wasn't going to argue with him. An hour later we walked out of the store with playing cards, an endless supply of Cheez Its, Twister, a couple of shirts for me, and some booze thanks to Edward's scruffy old man beard that was starting to form.

We had asked the woman at the checkout where the nearest hotel was.

"Ain't got no hotels really around here. Nobody ever comes here for anything. But if you drive up the road about ten miles there's a few small cabin like places that you can rent out. It's pretty quiet up there. Right out in the woods, even some hot springs up there."

After packing all of our stuff into the car, we started off in the direction the woman had told us. Thank Goodness I brought my credit card with me, we'd be shit out of luck otherwise.

We drove past a sign that indicated that "Corby's Cabins" were the next left. I was just hoping the office was still open. We drove deeper and deeper into the woods, the dirt road winding all over the place. Soon we came up on what looked like a small Lincoln Log cabin with an Office sign hanging crooked from the door. The light was still on. That was a good sign.

Edward and I walked in cautiously, hand in hand.

The man sitting behind the counter was quite chipper looking for it being the middle of the night.

"Howdy folks, what can I do for you?" His chubby belly bounced as he spoke.

"Yeah we're looking for a cabin. Do you have any available?"

I stole a glance at the board holding the keys for all the cabins. They were all there.

"Well I don't know…" He cracked a smile. "I'm just playing with you, of course we have one available. It's not really our busy season. Actually it hasn't been our busy season in a while."

Edward and I exchanged a look.

"Say are you two like..honeymooners or something? We get a lot of that here." Yeah I'm sure.

"No, no." Edward smiled. "We're not married."

"But you are together?" He eyed me a little too closely.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist. "Yes. Very, very together."

"Well then. I'll put you two up in the nicest one we got. It's the farthest from the road, which will give you tons of privacy. And the hot springs are right up the path behind the cabin." He took a key from the board and handed it to Edward. "There are fresh towels in there as well as everything else you might need. If you need anything else feel free to come up and ask. I'm here…all the time." He said with a smile. "Just follow the dirt road to the left of the office all the way until it ends."

"Thanks." Edward said as we turned and walked out the door.

"That guy was creepy." I shivered as I got back into the car.

"Geez I was pretty sure he was undressing you with his eyes." He laughed.

"Ew!" I slapped him on the chest.

"Maybe we could….you know…invite him over for dinner. And some…dessert," he teased.

"Pervert." I couldn't help but laugh as he drove down the long road, taking us deeper and deeper into the forest. There was a large shape rising up straight in front of us. I assumed it was our cabin when the road abruptly came to an end. Edward and I grabbed as many bags as we could and made our way up the steps. They creaked under our weight. For how creeptastic the office was, the cabin was actually beautiful. We walked into a small but comfortable living room complete with furniture and rustic decorations. It had a large window that looked out into the woods. There was a humble kitchen to the side with a dining room table and three mismatched chairs. Edward walked down the hallway and opened the first door he came to.

"Bedroom's here." He walked in. "That other door must be the bathroom." He emerged with empty hands and went back outside to get the rest of our stuff.

I walked into the assumed bathroom and looked myself over in the mirror. Hideous. That's what sleeping in a car will do to you.

Edward came up behind me and scooped me up, carrying me to bed.

"It's past your bed time," he pulled down the sheets and tucked us both in.

His hand reached out for the nightstand and I thought he was turning off the light, but he grabbed for his phone and put it to his ear.

"Jazz. Hey it's me. So Bella and I are taking a little..getaway. We left Betty on Henderson road a little before the bridge. The keys are in the gas door. I don't get good reception here so don't expect another call. Let Alice know Bella's safe. See ya."

He turned out the light and wrapped his arms around my waist, snuggling closer. I could hear him snoring within minutes. I took a chance and turned slowly to face him, keeping his arm over me. He was smiling in his sleep. My hand reached out and softly touched his face, running my fingers down his defined jaw line and caressing his cheek. I lay staring at him for hours, I wasn't tired because of my little nap earlier.

When I finally looked at the clock it read 5:34 a.m. The sun would be coming up soon. I slowly and carefully got out of bed, not wanting to wake him, especially when he looked so perfect and content. I walked out into the living room area and pulled the curtains back. The faintest glow as starting to show over the horizon. I smiled and looked down at the table. There was a map there of the entire property. I sat down in the chair and started examining it. It looked like there were about 5 other cabins besides this one scattered over the entire place. The office was marked and so were the hot springs that we heard about. They looked relatively close to our cabin. Suddenly an idea struck me. I skipped happily to the bedroom and did what needed to be done, before grabbing a towel and my purse and heading out the door.

I felt my phone vibrating in my bag as my hand touched the doorknob.

I dug for it and frowned when I read the caller I.D.

"What do you want Mom?"

"Bella where the hell are you?"

"It's no concern of yours." I was trying to keep my voice down, but I was even angrier with her than I was with Emmett. She was my mother, she was supposed to look out for me.

"Like hell it isn't. I'm still your mother and I demand you come home right now." I could tell she'd talked to Emmett. There's no way she'd be this concerned if she knew I was with him.

"No."

"No?"

"You know what mom? I'm sick and tired of your shit. And I hate you for keeping the truth from me. This is my life, my choices and I'm doing what's right for me. And Edward is what's right for me. He's everything that's right for me. And if you can't accept that then that's your problem!" I was in a whispering rage right now.

"BELLA!" She was definitely screaming. "If you aren't back here by noon I'm going to…"

I didn't need to hear the rest. I pulled the phone from my ear and hit "end." I laughed as I imagined her reaction when she realized I'd hung up on her.

I walked out the door and kicked a shoe off, letting it fall on the porch. Once I got halfway to my destination I was half naked, but I didn't care. I knew we were the only ones out here, unless that creeper front desk guy was hiding in the bushes. I pulled my phone out, hoping that both Edward's phone and mine would be on our side and have service right now. Two bars. Probably good enough. I dialed his number and waited.

"Bella?" His voice was full of sleepiness.

"Wake up sleepy head. It's 6 a.m."

"Where are you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." I closed the phone and turned back in the direction of the cabin.

"MARCOOOO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, before smiling and continuing on my journey.

**Edward**

I sat up as I heard her voice echo through the woods. I pulled back the curtain. It was still dark out, barely beginning to lighten up. "Polo?" I said, still confused.

I dragged myself out of bed and made my way to the front door. What the hell was she doing? She must be sleep deprived or something. I opened the door and came upon…a shoe? I looked out and squinted out onto the lawn. I could barely see another shoe at the entrance to the forest. She's playing a game with me. Okay Swan, I'll fucking play.

I smirked and walked towards the other shoe. I finally noticed it was at the beginning of a trail that led into the trees. I assumed it meant that she wanted me to follow her, so I did.

"Marco?" I said loudly.

"Poloooo." It was very faint but I heard it. I was going in the right direction.

I walked for another few minutes down the trail. I came up to a branch with her shirt hanging on it. I took it in my hands and continued on my way. It was light enough now that I wasn't paranoid about falling on my face.

Ahead of me was a fork in the trail.

"Marco?"

"Polo." She was close now, and definitely to the right. I started jogging down the path. Along the way I collected her pants, socks, and underwear. This was about to get a lot more interesting.

The trail stopped suddenly at a few huge boulders.

"Marco?" I said more tentatively. Where did she go now?

"Polo." Something hit me in the head. Her bra. I looked down past the boulders. I could see her now. Her shoulders were peaking out from the water, steam rising up all around her.

"You found me," she said smiling. Her face was glowing, showing the moisture from the steam. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the heat. "Now get your ass in here."

I smiled and jump in, fully clothed, bracing my legs in front of me for the shallow water. As soon as I landed her hands were on my chest.

"You were supposed to take your clothes off first silly goose."

"Oh." I faked surprise. "I was?"

"Yeah. Let me help you." She smiled and leaned in closer, running her fingers down my stomach. When she reached the spot where my shirt and pants met she stuck her finger in my waistline and ran in back and forth a few time before grabbing the hem of my soaked shirt and pulling it over my head. It got stuck briefly on my jaw and she laughed while she finagled it off. The next moment her lips were on mine, kissing fiercely. My hands wandered idly down to my pants, stepping out of them and throwing them on the boulders above. It was very reminiscent of our dip in the river at Charlie's.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist as she pulled herself impossibly closer. The moisture was dripping down her face and I could feel the heat of the steam on mine.

The sun was just starting to emerge through the trees and created bright orange streaks through the clouds of mist surrounding us.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you. Always." I said softly, nuzzling into her neck.

A few hours into our dip, Bella's eyes began to droop down. I could tell she was getting tired. All this warm water relaxed our muscles too much, even I was feeling exhausted.

Her arms lay lazily on my shoulders, her head resting on my chest. My hand moved slowly up and down her bare back, settling on the back of her neck.

"You need to sleep babe." I said softly into her ear.

The only response I got was a mumbled one.

"Never mind, you're already there." I brought us over to the edge of the spring and set her arms on the ground as I got out and slipped my pants back on. I scooped her up in my arms and draped my shirt over her body to cover her. She was sound asleep by the time we made it back to the cabin and was looking as peaceful as ever as I laid her down in the bed and covered her lovingly with a blanket.

I pulled on my gray sweatshirt and headed back outside to walk the trail and pick up the rest of her clothes.

When I was sure I had found all of them, I placed them quietly in the bedroom. She looked like she was still in a deep sleep, so I decided to explore a little. I was interested in where the other trail led. I walked up the same path that led to the springs, but took the path to the left, instead of the one I had taken earlier that day to get to Bella. Mostly it was just more trees, and more nature. I eventually came up to a clearing where the tress thinned. It was almost like a little meadow right in the middle of the forest. There were wild flowers everywhere and small playground in the center, complete with swings, a slide and even a basketball court in the middle. The court looked like it hadn't been played on in years. The rim was rusted and the net looked pretty dingy. There was a small wooden box beside the pole. I peeked inside and found a couple of basketballs. Surprisingly they were still inflated, even though a smattering of dust whooshed off the top as I opened it. _Bella would love this_, I thought to myself as I looked around. I smiled and made my way back to the cabin. I spent the rest of the day reading and writing, waiting for my Princess to wake up.

I looked up when I heard movement behind the bedroom door. After a few minutes, she emerged wearing my button up shirt and a pair of my boxers, her hair officially warranted the title of bed head.. _So fucking cute_.

"You're alive!" I said sarcastically.

"Ha." She said with a smile as she walked over and pulled herself onto my lap.

"I have a surprise for you."

"You do?" Her voice perked up.

"Yes I do. But, you have to get your butt dressed first." I winked at her.

She pouted.

"Trust me you'll love it."

That seemed to brighten her spirits a little and she skipped to the bedroom to grab some clothes, before skipping back to the bathroom and closing the door.

A quick five minutes later, she walked back out wearing my sweatshirt, which was incredibly large on her, and her jeans.

"What was the point of buying you clothes if you're just going to wear mine?"

She lifted the neck of the sweatshirt up to her nose, inhaling deeply. "I like it cause it smells like you."

I smiled and got up from my chair, taking her hand and leading her out the door.

I was bombarded by an endless parade of "Where are we going?" and "Are we there yet?"

"You are just like a little kid," I said a few steps before we would step into the clearing. "Which is why I thought you would like this." I smiled and motioned ahead of me.

Her eyes followed my hands and got big as she squealed with excitement. She released my hand and ran over to the slide and swings.

I pulled out my cigarettes and lit one, enjoying how happy she was. I watched as she climbed the stairs of the slide. Her arms shot up in the air as she "Wheeeee"d all the way down.

"Your turn!" She said excitedly. Fuck no.

"I'm not going down the slide." I shook my head laughing.

"Come on," she whined. "For me?"

I put the cigarette in my mouth and stumbled over to the slide, climbing up. I sat down unenthusiastically and started to push myself down.

"Wait! Arms up!"

I mumbled a few obscenities, the cigarette moving up and down on my lips. I put my arms up, completely half assed, and wiggled forward sliding slowly down the slide. She met me at the bottom and kissed me quickly before rushing over to the swings. She sat down and started swaying lightly back and forth. I got up and took the one next to her, following her swaying motion. I flicked my cigarette to the ground and entwined my legs in hers, pulling her swing closer to mine.

"You know you make me very happy," I said looking directly into her eyes, which were now close to mine.

"Good. That's the plan." She pulled the chain of my swing closer and placed a kiss on my lips.

She pulled back and started to pump her legs, flinging her swing higher and higher into the air. Once it was at full height, she let go, willing herself forward. She landed on her feet and fell forward laughing.

"I haven't done that in years," she sighed. She propped herself up on her elbows. "Your turn?" This I could do.

I got my swing going at full force before I jumped as well, landing a few feet ahead of her. I crawled back to where she was and laid down beside her. She turned over, pulling herself completely on top of me.

"You beat me."

"You bet your ass I did."

She laughed and looked up.

"What's that?" I assumed she was referring to the basketball court.

"It's a basketball court dum dum."

"Do we have a ball?"

"We do. Right in that box."

She smiled and looked down at me. "Up for a game of Horse?"

"You're on Swan."

**Bella**

I popped up and pulled Edward up with me. We walked over to the box he had been talking about and he reached inside, pulling out a basketball.

"Ladies first?" He threw the ball gently in my direction.

I started dribbling it around, deciding on my spot. "Favorite movie?"

"Huh?"

"What's your favorite movie?" I took my shot and did a little dance when it went in.

Edward retrieved the ball and started making his way to where I stood.

"Top Gun. Yours?"

"Sixteen Candles."

I watched as his shot went up, and bricked off the rim.

"That's an H for you." I stuck my tongue out and started the hunt for my next shot. I decided to go for an easy shot, I didn't want to humiliate him too bad.

He watched carefully as my shot went up and in, banking off the backboard.

"Chunky or creamy peanut butter?" He asked, dribbling the ball to me.

"Definitely creamy."

"Good girl." He took his shot and again missed terribly. He grimaced as the ball fell to the ground.

"That's an H-O. You're a HO!" I doubled over in laughter as I did a lay-up. "Guilty pleasure?"

"Prince. I love Prince." He started singing as he stumbled, trying to do a lay-up. "_I just want your extra time and your na-na-na-na-na kissss._" The ball bounced off the bottom of the rim.

"I watch Cops. Every Sunday, there's a marathon for ten hours. I used to sit myself in front of the t.v. with a bag of pretzels and a can of pop and watch Cops all day."

"Nice."

"Which is more than I can say for your basketball skills babe. You are terrible."

"I've never played."

"You never played?! Why the hell did you agree to play then?"

"Because you asked me to." There was no mocking in his voice and I knew then that he really would do anything I asked him to, even something as little as humiliating himself in a game of Horse.

"Well then." I threw the basketball down. "I am asking you to take me to bed or lose me forever." I hoped he would get the Top Gun reference. He smiled my favorite crooked smile and ran to me, throwing me on his back and running back to the cabin.

I woke up the next morning, fully intending on being a lazy ass the entire day. Sometime after lunch I asked Edward to play Twister with me. "I'm not that flexible Bella."

"I beg to differ." I winked seductively at him.

I pulled out the spinner and the mat, spreading it on the floor in the living room.

"Okay," I said spinning the spinner. "Right hand red." I clunked my hand on a red circle, Edward did the same. Five spins later, we had found ourselves in a very compromising position. Edward was on all fours with his back to the ground, in almost a crab-like position. I was crouched over him, also on all fours but with my stomach facing the ground, his body between it and me. My one leg reached through his and my chest happened to be placed right in front of his eyes.

"You know I like this game more than I thought." He said matter of factly.

I collapsed on top of him. "I knew you would."

I agreed to let him pick the next activity on our list. He opted for a treacherous game of Jacks. We sat, legs crossed, facing each other with intense stares on our faces, our eyes scanning the deck frantically for the next Jack to show its face. I screamed and slammed my head down when I saw it, barely beating his hand. I took the pile of cards underneath it and added them to my pile. My phone vibrated on the floor next to me for the fiftieth time today.

"Bella you should answer it. You need to talk to her."

"Why?" I said annoyed.

"Because she's your mother. And even if she's insane she's just trying to protect you. In her world, this," he motioned between us, "Just isn't right."

I threw my cards down and scooted closer to him, taking his face in my hands. "It doesn't matter if it's not right for her, it's right for me. This," I caressed his stubble ridden face, "is my heaven."

He smiled. "I know babe. But we do have to go back sometime. School starts in two weeks."

"Well," I sighed. "Let's make sure the next two weeks here are amazingly perfect." School scared me more than I cared to think about right now. School meant seeing my mom. School meant Emmett. School meant a multitude of problems that I wasn't ready to face.


	26. Halo

**A/N: Even though I did 2 POV in this chapter there's only one song for it cause I thought it was very appropriate. Also, there is a slight reference to the Notebook in here as well, so look out for that. Keep the reviews coming. They're better than playing Twister with Edward. XOXO**

**Edward**

I snuggled closer to Bella as she slept. I could smell the woodsy smell of the forest and the fresh air. My mind was running through the perfection that was the last two weeks. Nobody anywhere in the world had experienced as much love as we had in the last fourteen days. No one had laughed, or kissed, or touched, or played more.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Mmmm," Bella mumbled half sleeping. "Do we have to go to school today?"

I reached over her and turned the alarm clock off.

I pressed my face into her neck. "I'm afraid so love."

There was a knock on her door.

"Bella get up! Time for school! It's your first day of your senior year I want to take your picture!"

I watched as the door handle turned. My breath stopped. It came out in a big whoosh as the handle stopped abruptly. Thank God Bella remembered to lock it.

"I'm gonna go take a shower and get ready. I'll meet you at my car in an hour."

"Ehhh…." She rolled over as I climbed out of bed and out the window. She was definitely not a morning person. I was showered and ready to go in ten minutes. I opted for a simple shirt and jeans. Hell I wasn't trying to impress anybody. I ate breakfast with my mom, she avoided the whole picture fiasco that I'm sure Bella was enduring right at this moment. I had to laugh at the thought. I couldn't imagine Bella's smile being that genuine as she complained and bitched to her mom about how ridiculous this was.

As I walked out the door, I grabbed my bag off the counter and gave my mom a kiss on the cheek. Bella wasn't out by my car yet; I'd be surprised if she could escape her mom.

I leaned against my car and lit a cigarette. This was going to be one stupid ass day. If school wasn't bad enough, first days of school were worse. Everything was about rules, and guidelines, and deadlines, and assignments, and bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

I was just finishing my cigarette as Bella opened her front door and trudged out. Her mother was yelling after her. Something about wanting her to look nice for her last first day of school.

"Bella shouldn't you wear something nice. Like a skirt or a dress or something. You just look a little…plain."

I almost bolted up the stairs and let her mom have it for that comment. My girl couldn't look plain if she tried. And right now she looked beautiful. A simple blue-gray v-neck shirt and torn jeans looked amazing on her. Her hair was in a loose braid that hung limply over her shoulder.

She smiled as she got closer to me, completely ignoring her mother's rant.

"You look beautiful babe."

"Thank you." She leaned up and kissed me briefly, pulling my face to hers with her hand.

I opened the door for her and she got in, not even bothering to wave goodbye to her mother.

I on the other hand, was happy to rub this into her mother's face. I smiled largely up at Renee, who was standing on the porch, hands on her hips, clearly unhappy that I was the one driving her daughter to school. With an over exaggerated wave and a "Have a good day Miss Swan" I got into the car and backed out.

Bella took my hand as we drove the ten minutes to school. The window was rolled down and a few loose strands of her hair blew across her face in the wind.

The parking lot was halfway full when we arrived. I parked the car and started to get up, when I felt Bella's hand tense around mine.

"What is it?"

She forced a smile across her face.

"Nothing." I followed her line of sight.

"Fuck me," I whispered. Rosalie was standing a few cars away.

Bella glared at me.

"Sorry, wrong choice of words."

We opened the car doors simultaneously and stepped out of the car. I hurried over to Bella and took her hand, leading her towards the front door of the school. I felt Rosalie's and everyone else's eyes on us the entire way. Emmett had a lot of friends; he was the big man on campus. I'm sure he'd told everyone some lovely stories about Bella and me. This wasn't going to be pretty. I took my leather jacket off and slumped it around Bella's shoulders, staking my claim. If anyone messed with her, they'd have to deal with me.

Fortunately Bella and I had our first class together. I waited for her as she got her books out of her locker, my arm slung lazily overtop of it. After a quick stop at mine, we were off to Geography. As we walked into the classroom, hand in hand, I felt everyone's eyes on us again. Emmett was seated in the front of the classroom. His eyes were like sharp daggers stabbing at us. I felt Bella shy away as we walked by.

"Why don't you take a picture fucker?" I whispered to him. His eyes followed us all the way to the back. A scrawny freshman sat in the only table that had two seats empty. The only other seat was next to Emmett. This wasn't happening. There was no way I was sending Bella up there, and if I had to sit next to him I may have problems keeping my fist from meeting his face.

"You. Freshman." The skinny beanpole looked up at me, completely terrified. He gulped hard as he pointed as his chest and mouthed "Me?"

"Yeah you. You're being relocated. See that guy up in front. Looks like a complete idiot."

We both looked up towards Emmett. His finger was digging in his ear.

"Yeah." The freshman's voice squeaked.

"You're going to go sit with him now."

"Ummm…okay. Sorry sir."

I laughed as he stumbled out of his seat and ran up to sit next to Emmett. Bella and I took our seats and waited for class to begin. This was going to be a tough class for me. It wasn't that I had problems learning geography, I just couldn't stop looking over at the angel sitting next to me. Her eyes never left the blackboard, but they shifted slightly every time I looked at her. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant pink and she cracked a smile, trying to hold in laughter.

The rest of the day was going to be torture, well at least until last hour when I had Gym with Bella. These were the only two classes we had together. At least we'd see each other at lunch. The next couple hours were boring as hell and I found myself skipping excitedly to the cafeteria.

Bella was already there, sitting at a small round table with Jasper and Alice. Unfortunately Emmett and Rosalie were sitting at the next table with a bunch of the popular crowd huddled around them. I sat down next to Bella, prepared for her to have the same reaction to Rosalie as she did earlier, but she was absolutely vibrant. Her voice wasn't shaky, it was confident. She scooted over to my lap and wrapped her arm around my neck. I felt her eyes flicker to Rosalie's table, but it wasn't a nervous gaze. She was gloating. My girl was flaunting our relationship right in front of Rosalie. I fucking love her. I chuckled when I realized what she was doing. I chanced a look back at Rosalie, who was getting up and walking towards our table.

"Rosalie," Alice said, sweet as ever. I don't think she had a mean bone in her body, even for Rosalie.

"Rosalie?" Bella said happily. "What are you doing here, sweetie? Aren't you supposed to be at boarding school?"

"Actually Bella I've moved back here. For good." Her eyes darted to me like she was claiming her territory. Back off bitch, I'm taken.

Rosalie pulled up a chair and started chatting with Alice. Pretty soon Emmett scooted his chair over, sitting directly across from Bella and me. It was a little awkward to say the least, but Bella didn't seem to mind. She kept kissing my neck and running her fingers through my hair.

She finally leaned down to my ear and whispered, "Meet me in the nook." She bit lightly, knowing Rosalie was watching and got off my lap. I waited a minute before getting up myself.

"Excuse me."

Jasper and Alice laughed. They knew what that meant. Rosalie and Emmett looked absolutely livid.

I made my way through the crowded cafeteria to the nook, a small little hallway that led to absolutely nowhere. It was where all the couples went to have crazy make out sessions during school because nobody ever went back there and you couldn't see in it from the cafeteria.

As the bell rang for class, I pulled my face away from Bella's.

"I think I can safely say that was the most intense action the nook has ever seen."

She laughed as I straightened my shirt. I grabbed her hand and pulled her along down the hallway, dropping her off at her math class while I headed to history. One more hour until I see her again. Well, kinda. They usually separated the boys and the girls for most of the gym classes, but she'd only be across the gym. I'd still be able to see her.

The hour dragged on, I never thought I'd be so excited for gym class. I couldn't get to the locker room and dressed quick enough. I had been hoping that since it was the first day we wouldn't be doing anything, but unfortunately I was wrong. I listened to Coach Taylor explain the rules of basketball. Quite ironic, considering I'd recently lost a game of horse to my girlfriend. I caught Bella's eyes across the gym and nodded to the basketball, hoping she would get my joke. She smiled only slightly and I could finally see why. She'd gotten stuck playing with Rosalie and all her old friends from here. They were the definition of bitches. Bella stood completely still, her eyes locking on mine. Rosalie walked strongly towards her, bumping her obviously on purpose. She stumbled forward and fell onto her hands. I started, deciding to run over and kick Rosalie's ass myself, but Bella got up and brushed herself off. I stopped when I saw her tap Rosalie on the shoulder. As Rosalie turned, Bella shoved her with so much force that she fell back onto the stacked bleachers making them shake. Everyone in the gym paused.

"Bad move bitch!" Rosalie yelled as she lunged at Bella. All of Rosalie's friends gathered around the two in a circle. I could see them heckling and even trying to kick Bella. I ran over there as quickly as possible, busting through the circle and throwing Rosalie off Bella. Coach Taylor was there an instant after me, restraining Rosalie as she fought against him.

I picked Bella up and looked her over. She didn't have a scratch on her.

"Are you okay?" I said softly.

"I'm absolutely perfect." She said sternly, glaring directly at Rosalie.

Rosalie fought harder against Coach Taylor's restraints. Her friends were still making threats towards Bella, even with the Coach right there. I knew as well as them they wouldn't get in big trouble. Their parents probably paid for this gym.

"Mr. Cullen, thank you for your help, but you can go now. You aren't needed. The rest of you. I'll see you in detention after school." That was met with gasps and bitching from the band of Barbies. "Not another word or I'll make you come in on Saturday." Absolute silence followed. "Mr. Cullen?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

I leaned down close to Bella. "I'll be waiting for you after school." I gave her a quick kiss and made my way back to my side of the gym.

My finger tapped impatiently on my leg as I waited for Bella after her detention. She should have been out almost fifteen minutes ago, what was taking her so long? I called her cell, no answer. I was just about to go in and check on her when I saw Rosalie and her clan coming out of the small gap between two of the buildings. They were laughing and joking with each other. Rosalie's eyes connected with mine as she passed car.

"I didn't even break a nail," she said smugly. That wasn't good.

I jumped out of the car, left it running, left the door open, and ran towards the gap they had just come from. She was sitting on the ground, her knees pulled up to her chest. I couldn't see her face, her hair was covering it. Her knuckles were bleeding. Damnit.

I bent down slowly and tried to pull her hair back from her face. She shied away, allowing it to fall back in place.

"Babe what happened?"

She got up suddenly and started walking towards the car. "Nothing."

"Bella!" I said adamantly as I ran after her. She stopped and turned towards me.

"Shit…" I said slowly. Her nose had a little blood dripping from it. Her lip was cut and it looked like there was a black eye starting to form under her right eye, in addition to the numerous scratches across her face.

My hands were quickly on her face, caressing and assessing the damage. She winced away.

"Sweetie what happened?"

The tears started to form in her eyes.

"I could…I could feel them staring at me the entire time we were in detention. So I took the back way when it was finished to try and avoid them. They, they followed me and….I couldn't fight them off there were too many." She looked down at my jacket that she was still wearing.

"I'm sorry about you jacket Edward, I think I got some blood on it." She touched her lip.

"Hey I don't care about the jacket. Let's get you home and cleaned up." I put my arm around her and led her to the car.

Rosalie and her friends were still huddled around her car laughing.

I opened the door for Bella and helped her in. "I'll be right back love. Stay here."

I walked over to Rosalie. She smiled bigger when she saw me.

"I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing Rose, but I can promise you if you mess with Bella again. If there is one piece of her hair out of place because of you, you'll have to deal with me and I promise it won't be pleasant."

I turned and started to walk away.

"Looking forward to it."

"Cut the shit Rosalie, it's getting old." I didn't turn back, I just kept walking. Back to my car, back to my Bella.

She was silent the whole way home. I helped her out of the car and walked her up to her door. Her mother opened the door and gasped when she saw her daughter's face.

"Bella! What happened?" Her eyes darted to me. "This. This is your fault, you filthy no good…"

"Shut up Mom!"

She walked in, dragging me behind her, and headed up to her room. On the way she grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.

Her mother only banged on the door for the first half hour, then I guess she gave up. Bella lay on her bed, ice pack over her eye. I had grabbed some cotton swabs and the anti-bacterial stuff and started cleaning her gashes.

"I'm so sorry Bella. This was my fault."

"No it wasn't Edward. It's not either of our faults. If they have a problem with us then that's their problem." She tried to smile.

"Well yeah I know that. I don't care what anyone thinks. But I sure as hell don't want you to get beat up all the time." She winced as I cleaned the gash on her lip. "Just. Just make sure you don't go anywhere alone okay. Make sure me, or even Jasper or Alice are with you okay."

"Edward I can take care of myself. I don't need a babysitter."

"I know you can sweetheart, but I can't take any chances with you. You're kind of important to me."

"You're kind of important to me too," she said with her first genuine smile since gym.

"Alright Million Dollar Baby, let me take a look at that eye."

She took the ice pack away. It was swelling already.

"Damn. You look kind of badass with a black eye. It's very sexy."

"Yeah?" She got up and turned to look in the mirror over her bed. "Wow. Very sexy."

"Okay can you handle being by yourself for a little bit while I go get food and clothes for tomorrow." She nodded. "You aren't going to pick a fight with your stuffed animal or anything?" She laughed.

"No I promise."

I kissed her and headed out the window, back across to my room. I didn't flick the light on, I just walked right to the door and flung it open.

"Mom?" I said as I walked down the stairs. I searched through the refrigerator for the leftover pasta from last night. She didn't answer. Hm. She must not be home.

I found what I was looking for and headed back upstairs to get my supplies for tomorrow.

I flicked on the light and walked to my closet.

"Rosalie how is it that you keep ending up in my room?" I said completely monotone. I had seen the instant I came back in. I started throwing things into my duffel.

"Your little love display today was so…. nauseating."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Did you enjoy it Edward? As much as you enjoyed me?" I didn't need to look to know she had probably moved into an incredibly provocative pose.

"Ha."

"Do you really think this is going to last with her? We're two of a kind, you and me. Meant to be. You can't avoid it."

She was right behind me now, with her arms wrapped around my waist and her hands on my chest.

"Rosalie we go together about as well as ketchup goes with chicken noodle soup. And it doesn't matter. I'm in love with Bella and I'm not playing your games anymore. So keep on trying whore, I'm not taking the bait."

Her breath caught in her throat as my words flew out. I didn't even acknowledge her presence as I slid back out on the balcony and crawled across the tree, making my way back to the beautiful girl next door.

**Bella**

I felt like death the next morning. My face felt like a puffy blowfish. I couldn't even see all the way out of my one eye. Edward's arm was draped lovingly around me as he slept. I don't know how I'd woken up before the alarm, but I still had a solid thirty minutes before he'd even move. Maybe it was enough time to assess the damage and cover up the evidence. If my face looked anything like it felt, Edward would go berserk.

I crawled quietly out of bed and snuck to the bathroom. "Shit," I whispered as I leaned closer to the mirror. I definitely needed to do some damage control. My one eye was almost completely swollen shut. My bottom lip was pink and puffy; there was scab over the gash now. The little scratches all over my face looked tame compared to my eye and my lip. Don't even get me started on my nose. It was definitely noticeably crooked. That bitch broke my nose. If the crooked nose didn't convince me of that, the dark purple bruises under my eyes did. I reached for my makeup bag to attempt to cover this mess up. I was starting to scare myself by just looking in the mirror.

The makeup helped, but nothing could cover the puffiness that used to be my eye. I got frustrated and threw the compact down, not at all satisfied with the results of my makeover. In my haste, I'd realized that Edward was still sleeping. I peeked my head out of the bathroom to check on him. He was still sound asleep, the sun shining behind him through the window on his bare back and through his golden hair. It almost looked like there was a halo around his head. Seemed appropriate, he was my own personal angel. I laughed as I walked slowly to my closet. Maybe I should dress up a little bit today to distract from my face. I grabbed for my white flowy knee length skirt and a navy blue v-neck tank. After I was dressed I went back into the bathroom to fully assess the situation. Should I pull my hair back, or leave it down? Pulling it back would just exaggerate my injuries. I decided to pull the sides up, pinning them loosely behind my head. That would show Rosalie I wasn't afraid of her, proudly showing off my battle wounds. I leaned in again and starting poking at the area around my eye. My finger formed an imprint for an instant before the skin puffed back out to its original bloat. "Ouch…" I whispered to myself.

"Take these," Edward said, handing me some aspirin. I didn't even hear him get up. Plus he was already fully dressed and ready to go to school. I guess I didn't realize how late it was. "And stop obsessing over your face, you look beautiful."

"I should wear an eye patch, it'd be better to look like a pirate then this."

"You would be a very cute pirate."

I laughed and decided to forgo the eye patch.

"Do I get my own personal Johnny Depp if I'm a pirate?"

"Silly girl, if you're a pirate I'm a pirate."

"Arrrg," I said as I grabbed my bag and his hand and turned to walk out the door. My mother's eyes got wide as she watched us leaving the house together. She had to know he was staying over, it shouldn't be a surprise.

If yesterday was rough, today would be worse. Rosalie eyed Edward's car as we parked.

"We can skip today if you want," he said caressing my face.

"No. No we can't. I can't. I'm not afraid of her and she needs to know that."

I stepped out of the car confidently and put a smile on my face.

"Hi Rosalie." She looked disgusted with my politeness. Good.

Edward soon joined me, laughing at my display. His arm was secured firmly around my waist as mine was to his.

The day passed by uneventfully until lunch. I had to talk to a teacher about something, so I was a little later for lunch than I was yesterday. I stopped in the doorway, completely overtaken by Edward and his beauty as he sat at the lunch table. I leaned against the doorframe, watching him joke and laugh with Jasper. Those two were truly two peas in a pod, made for each other. It felt good to see him laugh like that, big and loud and happy.

"Bella…" Rosalie sneered as she stepped in front of me. "How's your face? It looks a little…bad." She laughed.

"Still looks better than your fake one Barbie." I started to walk away, heading directly for Edward.

"He didn't tell you I was in his room last night did he?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around.

"That's impossible Rosalie, you must really be desperate."

"Oh really?" She said crossing her arms. "And how can that be impossible?"

"Because Edward was with me last night. All night."

She raised an eyebrow. "That would be a little hard when he was clearly in his room at around…10:15 last night packing a duffel for your house."

My breath caught in my throat. I'd forgotten he'd went to his house for that.

"He was only gone ten minutes Rosalie, you know lying whore is not a good look for you."

"Ten minutes is plenty of time." I didn't miss her emphasis on the word plenty. "Last time he only needed 3 minutes…" She laughed again and walked away.

No, no, no. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Don't listen to her Bella; she's just messing with your head. How could she have known when he was back there, and what he was doing? I couldn't believe I actually doubted Edward right now. I strolled over to the table and sat down. Edward and Jasper were still laughing at something, but Edward's face changed when he looked at mine.

"Baby what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"That's not nothing. Come here." He grabbed my hand and headed for the nook. There were two kids making out down at the end of it. He pulled me in just far enough to escape the stare of the cafeteria.

"Talk to me." He put his hands on my face, forcing me to look him in the eye.

I tried to look at the floor but it was impossible.

"Edward was Rosalie in your room last night?"

He swallowed hard. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Yes," he said calmly.

I could feel the tears start to form in my eyes.

"And?" My foot started tapping loudly on the floor.

"And I told her to fuck off." The instant I looked into his eyes I knew he was telling the truth.

"Okay." I can't believe I ever doubted him. I was so stupid for giving in to Rosalie's game.

I started to walk away, but he pulled my hand back.

"Hey," he said as he leaned his face close to mine. "Never again." His voice was strong and fearless and ringing with perseverance.

The tears started to spill over as I clung to him.

"I'm so sorry Edward, I can't believe I didn't trust you. I shouldn't have listened to her…"

"Hey it's okay." His thumb gently wiped away the tears. "I definitely didn't give you a reason to trust me with what happened last time. But I love you…always."

"Always," I said smiling. He bent down and gave me a kiss.

"Now let's get out of here before he eats her face off." I looked down at the couple at the end of the hallway. The guy was pressed up against the wall, the girl's hands rubbing furiously through his hair.

We were both laughing as we re-entered the café. I shot a loud laugh in Rosalie's direction before placing my hand in Edward's back pocket. Take that SuperBitch.

I dressed quickly for gym, anxious to see him again. We'd met briefly, before we separated into our respective dressing rooms, to form a plan of action.

We were playing basketball….again. I was on Rosalie's team…again. I kept stealing looks at Edward, smiling widely as his eyes caught mine. I felt a sudden blow to the head. The basketball bounced away, just like it'd hit a brick wall.

"Nice catch Swan," Rosalie said.

I looked back at Edward. His stance was on alert, ready to pounce as soon as I said the word. I shook my head at him, rubbing the spot where the ball had hit me. I can take care of this, there would be no "Arg" ing from me.

"Yeah he is a nice catch isn't he?" I smiled, motioning to Edward who was attempting to dribble a ball.

She didn't have a comeback for that one.

"Swan, sit the rest of the day out. You took quite a klonker to the head." Coach Taylor motioned to the bleachers. I was lucky. I got to sit and watch Edward for the rest of the period. I watched Edward try to dribble, I watched Edward try to shoot, I watched Edward miss terribly...several times. He noticed that I was watching him a couple times and tried to do an exaggerated dribble while still looking at me. He promptly ran into a brick wall better known as Emmett. I watched his face bounce back from Emmett's chest as he fell to the floor.

My feet couldn't fly fast enough. I was over there in no time.

"Edward?"

He was curled up on the floor. My hand flew down towards his face. When I brought it back up again it was covered in red. Blood.

"FUCK! DAMN! SHIT SHOOT! MOTHER FUCKER!"

"Keep it down Cullen!" Coach Taylor said as he made his way over with a towel.

I turned to Emmett and pushed him hard on his chest. He stumbled back.

"What the fuck was that Emmett?"

"Miss Swan," Coach Taylor placed a firm hand on my shoulder.

"You can join your boyfriend in detention for your choice of words." I looked back at Edward. He was holding the towel up to his nose.

"Edward. You should learn to control your old lady. She's picking your fights for you." Emmett laughed as he headed into the locker room an instant before the bell rang.

Edward and I sat in detention together. At least now I wouldn't have to walk out alone. The bleeding had finally stopped but you could tell something was not right with his nose.

I kept throwing him sad looks. He returned them by crossing his eyes, or sticking out his tongue, or doing something equally hilarious to get me laughing. We got yelled at twice for "disruption." How can you get yelled at for a disruption of detention? We both set our heads down on the desks, facing each other for the rest of the time.

That night I was the one tending to his wounds. The next morning we both woke up to the sound of the alarm. I turned to face him.

"Oh man," I said when I saw his face. He had purple bruises under his eyes, completely identical to my purple bruises.

He must have understood what I meant. "So we're twins are we?" He said as he propped himself up on the pillow.

"Unfortunately."

"It's okay, it makes us look badass." He laid his head back down.

"We are totally badass."

We both laughed for a moment before I turned serious.

"Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?" I smoothed the hair away from his face.

"I'm the lucky one babe." He kissed my forehead, then both my eyes, being careful with the puffy one.

"How about we forgo school today?" I said.

"Isabella Swan suggesting we skip school?" He laughed.

"Well since we're being badass and all. And plus I don't think I have enough makeup for the both of us." I crawled on top of him, straddling his waist as I bent down to kiss him.

"Definitely skipping," he said against my lips.

"Definitely."


	27. Give in To Me

**Shoutouts: **

**AdaOra00 who is amazing and left me a shit ton of reviews today. Thanks for reading.**

**Everyone else who have been faithful readers, I adore you all. **

**Reviews are better than skipping school with Edward. XOXO**

**Bella**

"No Alice I'm not doing it." Alice was practically down on her knees in front of me in the parking lot.

"Please Bella. Please, please, please. I'll be your best friend forever."

"You already are my best friend forever." I crossed my arms.

"I know, I know that was weak. But seriously you would be helping me out so much."

Edward finally caught up to us after grabbing his bag out of the car. He slung his arm around me as we walked into school.

"Alice what is it exactly that you're trying to get Bella to do?"

"She wants me to join cheerleading Edward. Which I'm NOT going to do."

"A cheerleader?" He raised his eyebrow in a seductive manner. Of course his mind would go there at the first mention of the word "cheerleader."

"Edward you have to tell her to do it."

"Bella. You should do it."

I smacked him across his chest as him and Alice laughed.

"Please Bella I'm begging. Nobody knows what they're doing and we barely have enough for a squad this year."

"And you think I know what I'm doing, I've never been as cheery or chipper as you guys appear to be at the games?"

"You know the routines just as well as I do silly. You're my biggest fan, never missed a game." She was right. I was always in the front row cheering on my best friend-of-a-cheerleader. I could do those routines in my sleep.

I let out an agitated sigh.

"Fine." I stomped my foot. "When's the first game?"

She squealed with delight. "Friday."

"Friday?!" I stuttered. "That's…that's tomorrow."

"Come and get your uniform after school okay?" She skipped away to her first class.

"So I'll be at your house later tonight. You should probably try on the uniform, you know. Just to make sure it fits." Edward was laughing at me, again.

"Shut it you." I poked his chest with my finger before heading to my locker. He paused at his to put his bag away.

I froze in front of my locker. The word "WHORE" was spray painted in red across the front.

"Wow Bella what happened?" Rosalie hissed as she passed by.

I opened it quickly when I noticed Edward was starting towards me. He can't see this.

"Hey are you ready?" He slung his arm over the top of the locker.

"Yeah, just a sec." I grabbed my books and slammed the locker, quickly grabbing his arm and carting him off to class.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, even gym. Maybe because we'd moved on to track and field. This was definitely less of a contact sport than basketball was. At least they combined the boys and girls gym class for now. Edward and I decided to work on pole-vaulting, because well…it looked fun and no one else wanted to do it.

I stood in awe of him as he easily lifted himself over the horizontal bar. My head got a little dizzy as his muscles flexed, holding him up on the pole.

I was not as naturally talented. I fell with a thud to the mat, not even clearing the lowest setting.

Edward hopped on the mat and lay down beside me.

"Sorry Bells. You kinda suck."

"Yep. I make no excuses."

We both laughed and joked around on the mat for a few more minutes before Coach Taylor announced the end of class.

"Umm. You don't have to wait for me today. I'll get a ride home with Alice. I need to talk to her about the cheer situation."

I knew he was nervous about leaving me alone, but I really was meeting Alice. Just not for another hour. I needed to clean that stuff off my locker.

Edward left without hesitating, knowing I'd have Alice with me to protect me from the gang of barbarian Barbies.

I asked the first janitor I could find for some cleaning supplies. He obliged quickly when he realized I would be saving him work. It took me the whole hour to get it off.

"Isabella."

I turned.

"Principal Matthews. How are you?"

"I'm well thank you. I was going to ask you about this…." She gestured to my locker. "Do you know who did it, I'd like to make sure they are reprimanded."

I knew damn well who it was but I wasn't about to be a rat and tell on her.

"No clue."

"They probably had the wrong locker." She laughed. "Have you heard back from any of your colleges yet?"

College. It hadn't even crossed my mind in a while. I'd had so much going on in the last few months.

"Um. No I haven't."

"Well should be soon. Any college would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks. I'm sorry Principal Matthews I really have to be going. Excuse me." I picked up the bucket and deposited it back in the janitor's closet before meeting Alice in the locker room.

"Alice, I am doing this on one condition. I get to back out if I want to or the second you find someone to take my place."

"Done. Even though I know you're going to love it."

"I can hardly contain my excitement," I said in a monotone voice.

"Here." She handed me a folded up uniform.

"Come on Bella, look a little excited."

I put a fake smile on my face.

"Go team!" I shouted sarcastically.

"That's the spirit. Now remember to wear it to school tomorrow."

Edward showed up later that night just as I was trying on my uniform.

"Man I have amazing timing," he said as he crawled through my window.

"I look like a fruitcake." I appraised myself in the mirror.

"You look cute, and adorable, and very sexy."

"Yeah right."

"Very, very sexy." He snatched me up into his arms and bent his lips to my ear. "Did I ever tell you I have a thing for cheerleaders?"

"I'm not a typical cheerleader."

"That's what makes it so much better."

He pulled me down onto the bed. I ended up sleeping in my uniform and wearing it to school the next day.

I told Edward he didn't have to come to the game, I knew it wasn't his thing and he'd rather be caught dead than at a football game. He insisted that he was coming anyway. Jasper was going anyway, for Alice. He'd just sit with him.

I fidgeted with my uniform as I sat in my room, waiting for Alice to pick me up before the game. Edward had left with Jasper a few minutes earlier. They were going to get some food before. I eyed his leather jacket slung over my chair. _Perfect_. I put my arms through the jacket just as Alice honked from the driveway. I slipped my aviator sunglasses on and sprinted out the door.

**Edward**

I was at a football game. There were parents, and popcorn, and a marching band, and jocks…and a certain cheerleader who just happened to be the object of my affection. I wouldn't miss this for anything, especially since I knew how much she hated this right now.

Jazz and I were seated a few rows from the back, as far away from the student sections as possible. Both of our feet were propped up on the bleacher ahead of us, our bodies laid back on the ones behind. A couple of freshman tried to sit by us. They scurried away with our simultaneous "You don't want to sit there" looks.

"How long do these things last?" I stretched out.

"A couple of hours?"

"A couple of hours!? How do you make it?"

He smiled as he looked down at the field.

"That's how."

I followed his line of sight. A group of cheerleaders were making their way to the sidelines, led by Alice. My eyes searched for Bella, but I didn't see her. I finally spotted her following a few steps behind the group, wearing my leather jacket and her aviators while muttering to herself. She looked pissed.

"That's my girlfriend." I pointed out proudly to Jasper.

He didn't say anything; he just smiled at Alice as she blew him a kiss. Alice looked back at Bella and her eyes widened.

She stomped over to her and started gesturing wildly. Jasper and I looked on.

"What the hell is going on?"

"She's yelling at her for the jacket. And the ribbons."

"Ribbons?"

"Cheerleading rule number one Cullen. Never leave the house without ribbons in your hair.

It was only then that I noticed the ribbons in all the other cheerleader's hair. Lauren's, Alice's, Jessica's, Angela's….Rosalie's.

"Dude does your sister have to infest every aspect of my life?"

"She's an evil bitch. Of course she does."

I couldn't tell you the score of the game. My eyes were fixed on the incredibly hot cheerleader two in from the left. Alice had gotten the ribbons in her hair, but she'd adamantly refused to lose the jacket. They did their kicks, and their spins, and their little dance routine. Bella did all of them flawlessly, almost better than Alice, but I'd never admit that to Jazz or Alice. Not if I wanted to survive another day.

"Finally…3rd quarter." Jasper said smiling.

"What does that mean?"

"They get the 3rd quarter off. Which means that those two beautiful cheerleaders headed up the stairs right now are all ours for the next twelve minutes."

Alice flung herself onto Jasper's lap.

"Hey hubby."

"Hey wifey." She pecked him on the lips.

I turned to see Bella stomping up the stairs, completely annoyed.

"Give me a B!" I yelled, sticking my hand up in the air.

She shot me a glare.

"Give me an E!" She plopped down beside me.

"Give me an L, L, A!" I smiled sarcastically. "What does that spell?"

"Fucking stupid," she spat.

"Wow I really need to go back to school."

That got a laugh out of her. She finally lightened up a little bit. I set my hand on her thigh and leaned in.

"You look incredibly sexy right now. You're lucky I don't pounce on you right now."

She smiled seductively. "I wish you would." As she leaned in her hair brushed against my face. It smelled amazing, like strawberries. I felt her teeth on my ear.

I felt my hand tighten on her thigh.

She got up and took my hand.

"Follow me."

She led me down to the bottom of the bleachers, off to the side, and under them before throwing her lips onto mine. In the few moments I got to look around, all I saw were beams and darkness. When I didn't see anyone else down here, I let myself kiss her a little more freely.

I felt her hands drift down to my jeans, unbuckling them but not pulling them down. She back away from me and pulled her underwear down, throwing them into the darkness.

"Bella what the hell are you doing? There's a ton of people around."

She smiled and reached for the beam above her, pulling herself up.

"Come on babe, live a little." I let out a sigh as she lowered herself onto me. My hands rested on her hips as she pulled herself up and down. Maybe it was good that there was a big crowd, with all the cheering and the band playing, nobody would hear us under here.

"Bella this is crazy," I whispered, my voice ragged.

"Well, we're a little bit crazy," she laughed as she lowered herself again. Her head went back as a soft sigh escaped from her slightly parted lips.

I brought my head forward, kissing her chest and breathing into her.

She laughed a little as she ceased moving and released the bars, grasping onto my shoulders.

"Fuck Bella," I said, attempting to slow my breathing back to normal.

We stood for a minute, one of my hands grabbing a beam for support, her legs wrapped around my waist. I lifted her off me and set her back on the ground.

She started searching the ground, I assumed she was looking for her underwear.

"Oh well," she said, starting towards the light at the end of the bleachers.

"Oh well? You don't have any underwear on."

"Oh well." She shrugged her shoulders and pulled me along.

We were almost to the opening of the bleachers when Bella smiled over into the darkness. I squinted into it and finally saw two shadows emerge. Emmett and Rosalie stepped out into the subtle light, both giving off a look of shock and complete after-sex satisfaction.

"I hope you guys used protection," Bella said as we passed. "Two whores plus one lousy fuck equals one nasty infection."

My mouth dropped open with amazement before a smile spread across my face. I love it when she talks bitch.

Once we stepped out into the crowd, I finally spoke.

"Did you know they were there…did they..see us?"

"Yes I knew and yes they did. Payback's a bitch." She winked as she walked back onto the field.

I took my position next to Jazz and watched the rest of the game, holding my breath each time Bella did a kick or a spin.

The game came to an end and Jazz and I headed out.

"So, what'd you think?" He asked as we got into his newly cleaned car.

"Loved it. I don't think the field has seen that much action in awhile.

**The song for this chapter doesn't totally fit, but it's totally badass and when I hear it all I can think of is badass Bella taking the field in her leather jacket and cheerleading uniform, as well as the little escapade under the bleachers. **


	28. Poker Face

**A/N: For those of you also reading Brand New. I pinky promise to update either tomorrow or Thursday. And it'll be good since I always keep you guys waiting. Otherwise I absolutely love this chapter so enjoy. XOXO**

**Bella**

"Guess what Dad?"

"What Bells?" I could hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"I got in." I smiled into the phone.

"To UCLA…or NYU?"

"Well…both. But Mom doesn't know that I applied to NYU so keep that on the down low for now."

"Bella you're going to have to tell her."

"I know." My smile faded. My mother had pretty much all but forged my signature on the application for UCLA. In her eyes, there were no other options. UCLA was thee option. "Now Bella…" I could hear her nasally voice in my head. "UCLA is such a distinguished school. It would be a great opportunity for you academically and socially." I knew what she was really saying. Meet some rich guy and ditch your loser boyfriend.

I didn't even mention NYU to my mother. She would probably have a panic attack. It was too liberal, too city, too…me for her taste. It was exactly where I wanted to be.

"So what are Edward's plans for college?"

I winced. This was a sensitive subject.

"Edward and Jasper are moving to L.A. after we graduate. They aren't planning on going to school at the moment."

Therein lies my dilemma. I've dreamed about going to NYU since I knew it existed. I wanted to walk in Central Park in the fall and go skating in Rockefeller Center at Christmas and experience New Year's with the masses in the streets. I wanted to order takeout a few times a week and take the dirty subway around the city and try my best to find Ben Bailey and the Cash Cab. That was what I wanted to do; go to NYU and study something I'm passionate about, even if I'm not sure what that is quite yet.

New York City is on the complete opposite end of the country of UCLA….and Edward. How could two things that I want and need so desperately be so far apart? I couldn't even begin to imagine my life without Edward. I have yet to discuss this with him. I think I've been avoiding it because no matter what I choose I'll be losing something I love.

"Uh. Dad. I have to go. Alice is having a Halloween Party tonight and I have to go get ready."

"That sounds like trouble. What are you going as?"

"We are going as Bonnie and Clyde."

"Perfect."

We both laughed.

"See ya Dad. Love you."

"Bye Bells."

I hung up the phone and glanced at the clock. 7:30. Edward would be here in an hour. We decided to get ready separately so we could be surprised. It was Alice's idea that we go as Bonnie and Clyde, and after our daring little stunt under the bleachers I thought it was appropriate. Edward was just excited about the huge plastic Tommy guns we got to carry around.

I wound my hair in hot rollers while I did my makeup. It was Halloween, I was allowed to go a little dramatic complete with fake eyelashes. I smacked my red lips together after applying the lipstick and brought my hand up to the curlers. Completely cool. I carefully unwrapped one roller and watched as my hair bounced all the way back up past my shoulder. By the time all the rollers were undone, all of my hair bounced lightly just across my shoulders. Who knew that hot rollers could turn your hair from long and wavy to short and glamorous in thirty minutes? Apparently Alice did.

I took the diamond encrusted bobby pin in my teeth while I pulled one side of my curls back a little and pinned it lightly.

My dress was simple, typical flapper style with a very un-flapper-like slit on the thigh. The black material looked amazing against my skin. I had a long necklace full of diamonds looped loosely several times around my neck.

I was pulling my black fishnets up my leg when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." I knew it wasn't Edward. He had strict instructions to wait downstairs when he arrived.

"Oh sweetie you look amazing." My mom had peeked her head in.

"Thanks." I smiled towards her.

"Edward's here, he's waiting downstairs." I wouldn't say that my mother had exactly warmed up to Edward being my boyfriend, but she had definitely accepted it. She was at least civil to him now. She'd probably love him if she knew that he may be the reason I plan to go to UCLA.

"Okay tell him I'll be down in a minute."

She smiled and closed the door behind her. Once I heard her make her way down the stairs I opened the drawer beside my bed and pulled out my garter belt. I slid it up the length of my leg, leaving it to rest just so it would peek through the slit of my dress. The loop on the side of the garter was empty for now. I reached into my drawer again, pulling out a plastic squirt gun full of whiskey and slipped it through the loop.

I gave myself one last look in the mirror, grabbed my plastic Tommy gun and headed out my bedroom door.

I descended the stairs slowly, smiling as I saw his shoes in the foyer. The shiny black shoes were accentuated by the hem of the black and white pinstripe fabric on his pants. My smile grew wider and wider as I saw more and more of him. He had a matching pinstripe suit jacket, complete with a black vest and white tie. His head was tipped down; all I could see is the top of his black fedora. I cleared my throat.

He tilted his head up slightly, revealing the crooked smile that adorned his face.

"There's my Bonnie." He winked at me as I took his arm.

"Wait you two, let me get a picture." My mother pushed us both towards the wall to pose for a picture. We both smiled our cheesiest smiles and ran out the door.

Edward opened the door for me before walking around and getting into the driver's seat. It would take us a good twenty minutes to get to Alice's place. It was clear on the other side of town. Hopefully we'd find something to talk about to fill the time. I didn't want my mind wandering to the difficult decision I'd have to make about Edward and college.

"You look beyond sexy," he said as he drove down the road. He put his hand on my thigh, traveling up, up, up until his fingers grazed over the garter and the object on it.

"What's this?"

"Not while you're driving." I laughed.

"Hmmm…" he mused. "Must be something good then."

I smiled over at him. He looked incredibly hot in his little getup. I found myself raking my eyes over his body and licking my lips. There was something about a man in pinstripe that just got to me.

"Bow chicka wow wow…" he said seductively when he noticed my stare.

I slapped him playfully.

"It's okay baby. Look all you want. I know I'm sexy."

"Just a little," I teased.

"I'm bringing sexy back, those other boys don't know how to act." He did a little dance to go along with his sing along, or as much of a dance as he could muster while still keeping control of the car.

The rest of the car ride was silent. Not awkward or uncomfortable, but just unwelcomed silence. Unwelcomed because it allowed my thoughts to drift into that place I didn't want them to go. Do I forgo my dreams for love? But what if my dream was to be in love? Why can't I have both? It was all just so confusing. I sighed deeply.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Edward was just pulling onto Alice's street.

I shrugged.

"Come on. Spill." He parked and turned the engine off.

"I got two of my acceptance letters today."

"Really?! That's great babe." He patted my shoulder. "Where to?"

"UCLA."

"Okay we know that's out. You just applied there for your mom. Where's the other one?"

"NYU."

He visibly tensed for a moment before relaxing.

"I…I didn't know you were applying there."

"It's kind of been this dream of mine to go there. Like my entire life." I laughed, but there was a hint of sadness in it. He sat and listened to me rant on about NYU for the next twenty minutes. He smiled when I did, laughed when I told him about my longing for crappy take out and disgusting subways. Even though I know the thought of being apart scared the shit out of him, he seemed to light up just watching me talk about it.

"Then you should go…to NYU. I want you to have all the things that you want for yourself. You deserve them." He managed a smile.

"I want them too Edward, I do. But the truth is, none of those things mean anything to me if I don't have you to share them with."

"Hey I'm not going anywhere," he rubbed my shoulder affectionately.

"Yeah only to L.A. Which is on the other end of the country."

"Bella please don't give up on New York because of me. It's your life. You need to go out and live it. I'll be here. Always."

"I just…" My eyes started to tear up. "I don't know…."

"I know. It would be hell for us to be apart." He grabbed my hand. "But let's not talk about this now, we're missing the party."

"Okay." I smiled and opened the car door. This decision was going to be even harder than I thought. How can I leave Edward here waiting for me like a lap dog?

I decided to push all thoughts of college away for the night and just have fun.

There were loads of people there. I walked into a sea of everything ranging from cowboys to large bananas. People really got creative this year.

Alice came out of nowhere, grasping onto me. Her little Tinkerbell wings grazed my face.

"Alice you look great…where's Jasper?" She winced and nodded to the right. I saw him then. I was able to hold in my laughter. Unfortunately Edward was not.

Jasper was seated in the big brown chair in the corner of the room sipping on something in a red cup. His costume consisted of a feathered hat, long green shirt, belt, and….tights.

"He's not too happy about his ensemble." Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't believe you convinced him to go as Peter Pan."

"It did take some convincing." I didn't want to know what that entailed. She skipped over to him and sat on his lap.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist.

"So," he whispered into my ear, "Do I get to find out what this is now?" His hand reached around across my waist and down my leg, resting again on the garter.

"Of course." I took the squirt gun out of its holster and turn towards him.

"Put em up and no one gets hurt."

His hands flew up and his mouth flew open in mock terror. I aimed directly for his mouth and pulled the trigger.

He seemed confused at first to what the liquid was that I'd just shot into his mouth, but was soon delightfully surprised.

"You never cease to amaze me."

I smiled as I gave myself a shot.

Emmett and Rosalie entered just then dressed as a Playboy Bunny and Hugh Hefner.

"Rose. Didn't you know this was a costume party?'

She sneered at me as she passed. Emmett gave me and Edward one long look over before heading to the beverage table.

I spent the next couple of hours chatting with some girls from school. I hadn't even noticed that Edward had left my side until Alice ran up to me.

"Bella we have a big problem." She looked really concerned.

"What is it?" My eyes searched frantically for Edward, hoping that her big problem didn't involve him.

"Edward and Jasper…" My breath stopped. "Have found the old karaoke machine."

I let the whoosh of air out. She really had me worried for a minute. Then I heard it.

"I wanna know what love is….I know you can show meeeeee!" Jasper was belting out into the microphone.

"I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know." Edward was turned towards him, arms outstretched, singing bravely into the other microphone.

I slung my arm around Alice as we watched our boys' performance.

"Well Al, I think Jasper has moved past his insecurities about his wardrobe."

Jasper was doing random kicks and even through his hat into the crowd. Pretty soon they were singing in unison. As the song ended, the crowd erupted in a fit of applause and cheers.

Our choir boys bowed one last time to their fans before coming to join us.

"Jazz sweetie. I love you. But karaoke and alcohol don't mix well for you."

I laughed as I wrapped my arms around Edward's waist.

"That was pure brilliance babe."

"Why thank you. We're thinking of touring."

"Ooo. Can I be a groupie?"

He laughed as he kissed my forehead.

I peeked into the other room. Emmett had a group of people sitting around the enormous dining room table playing a game of poker.

"Hey let's go play," I pulled Edward's arm along.

"This is one thing I know I can beat you in." He said smugly.

"Oh is that right?"

We sat down at the table. Edward sat awkwardly next to Emmett, right across from me. The first few rounds went relatively smoothly. I let him win most of them when I know I could have easily won each one. It was all part of my evil plan. I was still a few chips ahead of him.

It was down to the wire, last round. Edward and I were the only ones left. I had total shit. Nothing. Nada. But he didn't know that. Jasper and him were huddled around his cards, smiling at me. They think they've got me by the balls. Time to turn the tables.

"I'll bet one hundred." I confidently pushed my chips out.

Edward eyed me from across the table. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"She's bullshitting you Edward." Jasper peered at Edward's cards and back out to the table. "I can feel it."

"I can feel it too." Edward laughed and pushed out his chips to meet my raise. He's about to feel a raise of his own. I appeared deep in thought while I slid my shoe off of my foot. My foot reached slowly across the table, hoping I would find the right chair. I found a leg and started working my way up it.

Edward's face didn't change, but Emmett's sure did. His eyes widened and his posture straightened right up. Shit, wrong one. I withdrew my foot from his leg as quick as I could and felt along for the next one.

I knew I'd found the right one when Edward's eyes looked up at me from behind his cards. He shook his head smiling. You wouldn't dare, his eyes said. I smiled devilishly. Oh I would.

My foot ran up the length of his leg and up his thigh, settling at the top where I started to massage up and down. He closed his eyes, halfway in frustration and half in pleasure. I felt him react to my touch under the table. He put his hand on his forehead and sighed.

I cleared my throat as my foot kept moving. I loved seeing him come undone.

"I'm going to raise…" I paused at the word "…another hundred."

I looked back across at him. His palm was flat against the table, then he grabbed the tablecloth and twisted it in his fist.

"I fold," he said as he threw the cards to the center and quickly got up. I saw him run into the bathroom.

"What the hell was that?" Jasper was confused as to why he folded. Especially when he had a flush.

I collected my chips and deposited them into my purse. I'd collect on them later. Right now my thoughts went to the man in the bathroom.

I walked up to the door and opened it. Unlocked. Surprising. It was also dark. My hand searched for a light switch. As it groped along the wall, another hand grabbed it and whisked me inside, closing the door behind.

"Don't move," he whispered into my ear. I felt his hand run down my ribs and down to the slit of my dress. His hand slid under as his lips met mine. His other hand cupped under my other thigh, raising it up to his hip. He pressed me roughly up against the door, making a large thud. Everyone was suddenly quiet outside. I knew they could hear everything.

"Like you've said Bella. Payback is a bitch," he whispered into my ear before nibbling on my neck.

I covered my mouth, trying with everything I had to keep quiet. It was impossible. I know they heard every sigh, every gasp, every sound that escaped my lips. He was evil. More evil than I was. But evil had never been as sexy as it was in that bathroom.

We came out of the bathroom ten minutes later to a quiet crowd. They tried to engage themselves in small talk as we emerged, but they were way too transparent.

"I know you heard," I said as I threw my hands up. "You don't have to pretend."

Edward stifled a laugh.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and carted me towards the door.

"Great party Alice. I think we're gonna take off."

"Sounded like you already did," Emmett muttered.

Edward smiled back at him. "Twice."

I was still trying to come back to earth on the entire drive home.

Edward went back to his house to change before he crawled back through my window. I was already in my sweats, leaning close to the mirror taking my makeup off.

"How about a game of poker?" He said as he ran his fingers through my hair.

I gave him the stink eye.

"Come on. Just you and me. No funny stuff…from either of us." He pointed a finger at me.

"Okay fine."

We exited the bathroom and plopped down on my bed. He pulled out the cards and dealt me my hand. It was pretty decent. Not extraordinary, but not totally lame.

We'd emptied out all of our chips and our pockets. We had nothing left to put into the pot.

"Now what?" I said, looking up at Edward for his suggestion.

"Now. If I win, you're going to New York. No questions. No whining. No "_Please Edwards_." You'll go and you'll be happy and I'll miss you everyday and you'll miss me everyday and we'll fall more in love with each other each minute we're apart."

I froze. "You said…no funny stuff." I felt the tears well up in my eyes. Now I didn't know if I wanted my hand to be good or bad. It was 50-50. I could barely look.

"No funny stuff love." He laid his hand down confidently. Full house.

"Not funny at all." I laid my hand down revealing my straight.

**A/N: Some of the reviewers haven't played poker so they werent' sure who won. A full house is one of the highest things you can get, so Edward's hand (a pair and three of a kind) is definitely better than Bella's straight (5 cards in numerical sequence). Hope that helps.**


	29. Everyday

**Edward**

"Would you relax Edward, you're driving me crazy!" Jasper sat in his chair, his brows furrowed in agitation.

My legs were bouncing up and down as I sat on the edge of my bed, my eyes shifting anxiously from the clock on my bed to the watch on my wrist.

"I need a cigarette." This shit was stressing me out. Bella was only gone for 4 days to visit the NYU campus and I was going insane. I had to be calmer by the time I go to pick her up at the airport. I can't let her see me like this, she'd never go.

I walked out onto my balcony and lit a cigarette. Jasper joined me after a couple of minutes.

"Man you're in trouble."

I took a drag. "I know man, I'm fucked."

"How long until she comes back?"

"Her plane lands in an hour. I'll leave in a half hour."

"Do you need me to drive…you look a little…eh?" His finger circled his temple, indicating that he thought I was going crazy.

I can't imagine that I looked that great. I hadn't slept a night since she left. I think I called her more than her parents did. It just made me nervous, having her so far away and by herself.

My fears had been confirmed last night when she called. I knew something was wrong right away, even though she was trying hard to keep her voice calm.

"Now Edward don't freak out okay?"

"I'm not making any promises."

My finger tapped frantically on my desk.

She seemed hesitant to tell me.

"Bella just fucking tell me."

"Okay. Well I was on the subway with this group of other visiting students. They were going to try and sneak into a bar and as hard as it is to believe, I didn't want to go."

I didn't like where this was going.

"So," she continued. "They got off at one stop and I stayed on to go back to the dorms." She paused. "And this…weird guy got on."

My fist clenched. Definitely did not like where this was going.

"Go on…" I said through my teeth.

"Well I got off at my stop and he got off on the same one. I thought I was just being paranoid, but he kept following me. So I made sure to stick to the lighted streets as much as I could, but there was no other way to go except down this street with only one light. So I got a little nervous and started walking faster and the guy was still following me so I just started running and he started running."

"And…?"

"Well you have to promise not to tell my parents but he grabbed my arm just as I reached the door and pulled me into the alley next to the door."

"Damnit Bella! Why weren't you more careful? I'm coming to get you right now!" My fist slammed down on the table.

"Edward, relax nothing happened! He told me to give him my purse, so I started to hand it over when this guy whipped around the corner and told the guy that the police were on their way. The weird guy took off as soon as he heard the word cop."

"I don't care if nothing happened! Do you even realize what could have…" My voice trailed off. I didn't want to think about that.

"Edward I know. But it didn't. Thanks to my savior."

That was so Bella. Trying to brush off something as serious as that. I was extra paranoid for the rest of her trip and I'd be paranoid until I saw her walking through the terminal in one piece.

"Edward!" Jasper's voice was calling me back to the here and now. "Edward?" His hand was waving in front of my face.

My eyes finally connected with his.

"Alice just called, she's been tracking Bella's plane. It landed ten minutes ago."

I grabbed my jacket and keys and flew out the door. I couldn't make the car go fast enough for my nerves. I had kept my promise and not told her parents, but that couldn't undo me knowing about it. Now it would be even harder to let her go in six months. I might have to hire a bodyguard to follow her around just to keep my piece of mind.

The car came to a screech in the non-parking zone.

"Sir you can't park there!" A security guard stared at me.

"Tow me!" I screamed as I ran through the doors.

My mind was racing. _Bella, Bella, Bella, long beautiful brown hair, sweet brown eyes, Bella, Bella, Bella. _

I stopped as I approached the security checkpoint and stood anxiously, popping up on my toes every few minutes to peek over the large crowd that had gathered.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, do you know the time? My boyfriend was supposed to pick me up and he's a little late."

I spun around at the sound of her voice and scooped her up into my arms, swinging us around in circles. My nose dug down into her hair, inhaling her perfect scent that I've been missing these past days.

"God I missed you."

"Missed you too." She pulled back to kiss me. Her foot slowly rose up as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I put my arm around her waist as we walked out of the airport.

"You won't believe how excited I was, I parked my car right….here." I looked to the spot that my car previously occupied.

"Where is my fucking car?!" I threw my arms up.

"You said to tow it. So we towed it." The same security guard from before came up behind us. He handed me a slip with the towing information.

I turned back to Bella. She was doubled over laughing.

"I'll call Alice."

Her phone was at her ear an instant later.

"Alice…yeah we need a ride….Genius over here parked in a no parking zone and got his car towed."

She hung up, still laughing.

Jasper and Alice pulled up twenty minutes later. Alice jumped out and threw her arms around Bella. Back off Alice, that's my girl and this is my time.

Bella and I scooted into the backseat. She ended up basically on my lap. I couldn't stand not touching her, not being close to her. I'd been going through withdrawal. I needed her skin on mine, needed her breath on my face, needed her eyes looking at mine.

She squeezed my hand as we pulled into her driveway.

"There you go kids. Be safe, use protection." Jasper smirked as he unlocked the doors.

I shot him a look, Bella just smiled as we got out of the car. I carried her bag to the door, which was answered promptly by her mother. I bent down to give her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"I'll be right over," I whispered into her ear.

Her mother said a quick hello to me before pulling Bella inside.

I waited in Bella's room for nearly an hour. I can only imagine how her mother was probably talking her ear off. My fingers were flipping casually through our yearbook when she walked in. It was nearly 10 o'clock.

"Man I'm tired," she said as she crawled onto my lap and started kissing my neck.

I smiled.

"I thought you were tired." My lips bent down to touch her shoulder.

"I am tired….of you not being naked." She smirked and pulled my shirt off.

We lay back on the bed, curled up under her blanket.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Edward it was amazing. It was everything I could ever want for myself and more. It really felt like home. The only thing that would have made it better was if you were there with me. And maybe if I didn't almost get mugged. Actually that was kind of cool."

"Bella don't be ridiculous. Are you sure you're okay? It didn't freak you out even a little bit." I think that scared me. She wasn't even shaken by the fact that she got pulled into an alley by a man fully intent on robbing her and maybe more.

My hand caressed her face.

"Honey I'm fine." She smiled reassuringly. "Thank Goodness Garrett was there."

"I really need to thank this guy. He saved my life." I kissed her softly.

"Oh you really need to meet him Edward. He's so great. We're going to be in the same dorm next year. He took me to get some coffee after my little incident. He told me all about campus and the city. It'll be nice to have a friend when I go there."

I lifted my eyebrow.

"Edward. Don't be jealous. He's just a friend. I'm not going to know anyone there, he was nice to me."

My mood calmed.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little freaked out by your "little incident" as you called it. You are way too precious to me and I'm just mad that I couldn't be the one to save you."

"Don't be silly. You've saved me more than once. You save me everyday."

She brought her forehead up to meet mine.

"I'm not going to lie to you Bells, I was going crazy when you were away. I think Jasper thought I was going insane. I checked the clock at least every two minutes today."

She laughed. "That's nothing. I kept my phone in my front pocket twenty-four seven just in case you happened to call."

"I'm sorry I didn't call more. I just didn't want to bother you. This was your trip."

"Well thank you for loving me so much."

I snuggled closer to her.

"Man Bella, how are we going to do this?"

"I know." She turned serious. "It's going to be unbearable at first. But you know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Or makes the heart go fucking nuts."

"Or that too." She looked up at me. "Edward we're going to make this work. We're both going to go do what we wanted to do in the world. And when we're done, we'll make our way back to each other and start our life together. There's nothing wrong with wanting things for yourself. And I want you to have all the things you want, just like you want that for me. We just have to trust that our love is strong enough to wait."

"I know it is Bella. I just don't want to miss this."

"Miss what?"

"The way your nose crinkles up when you get irritated, or how you raise your eyebrow when you're being sarcastic. I don't want to miss the way you stretch your arms above your head every morning before you open your eyes and the way your bottom lip sticks out when you're being a whiny ass." I laughed. "Or when you stand in front of the mirror after you take a shower. You lean in real close, turn your head to the side, smile and skip out of the room."

I looked back down at her. There were tears in her eyes.

"Oh no. No don't cry. That wasn't supposed to make you sad." I laughed and started wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm not sad Edward. I'm just…so in love with you it hurts. In a good way." The corner of her mouth perked up into an almost smile. "I guess I'll have to be more careful with what I do if you're going to be watching me like a hawk every minute."

"I'm just making memories. Don't change a thing. You're perfect."

We fell asleep, forehead to forehead, dreaming the dreams we had for each other and for us.

I woke up before she did, so I just laid there watching her sleep. Her chest rose up and down slowly with each breath she took, her face was completely at ease. I bent down and kissed her lips.

She slept for another twenty minutes before she did her morning arm stretch. She stopped mid-stretch and peered out one eye.

"Caught ya," I said laughing.

"I don't even realize that I do it." She smiled and settled back into bed. "Good morning."

"Good morning. Your mother left for work about ten minutes ago. Stay here. I'll be back with a surprise." It was my turn to make her breakfast.

We stayed in bed for the rest of the day, eating the wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham that I made. She talked my ear off about how wonderful New York was and I sat there, half excited for her and half scared for what this all meant for us. I knew deep down in my heart that we were going to make it through this, but my stupid head is evil and turned against me, planting terrible and devastating scenarios in my head. None of them involved a happy ending.


	30. The Scientist

**Bella**

"So what does Edward have planned for you two tomorrow night?" Alice was sitting on my bed, flipping through a magazine, her usual routine. But nothing about tonight was usual or routine. It was my second to last night in town before I moved to the big city to start my life. It was my last night with Alice. Last night for girl time. Last sleepover. It was our last night because tomorrow was my time with Edward. I was leaving early the next morning.

I didn't know what he had planned for us, or where we were going, or if I was going to have a mental breakdown. The latter was highly possible with how emotional I had been lately. The school year had passed by in the blink of an eye. It felt like the first football game was a couple of weeks ago, and graduation was a millennium away. I shook my head at the bullet like speed of life and love. Edward and I were at a perfect place, and now it was getting its ultimate test: separation.

"What's this?" Alice asked as I placed my last piece of luggage by the door. I looked over at her to see that she was holding the photo album. It was something I had made for Edward. I was giving it to him tomorrow night, kind of as a going away gift. I knew tomorrow night was going to be the hardest night of my life, but I wanted him to have something of me to take with him.

Alice was flipping through the pages. She stopped at one and started laughing.

"Where was this?"

I peered over her shoulder and saw the first official picture of Edward and I when we went to visit Charlie.

"That's at the Barn. It's a bar in my hometown."

"You guys look like you're having so much fun."

"Yeah that was definitely a night of revelations for us."

She flipped through the rest of the pages.

Edward and me at Christmas. He'd bought me a leather coat to match his. I bought him a new IPod, since I'd destroyed the other one. My mom had taken this picture of us right after we'd opened our gifts. We were still in our pajamas since Edward had "come over" so early. He actually crawled out my window and went around to the front door.

Our prom picture was hilarious. He had still refused to dress up too much. He wore dress pants and a short sleeve gray dress shirt, complete with a casual tie and black beanie. I didn't care what he was wearing, he looked absolutely amazing. He perfectly complimented my fiery red simple dress. I was lifting Edward up, bride across the thresh-hold style, while he put his arms around my neck and looked at me with a sarcastic goofball look in his eye. I had a tough macho man look on my face. My mother had scolded us for this one. "Bella I wanted a nice picture…Bella this is your prom, something you'll remember forever…I bet nobody else took pictures like this."

The last picture was from graduation day. Edward and I had been walking partners. We talked and goofed around during the entire ceremony. I swear every picture my dad got of us was Edward making a face, or me laughing at Edward making a face, or us kissing. We held hands as we walked up to the stage and Edward had refused to walk across the stage until they called my name as well. In typical Bella fashion I tripped halfway across, nearly bringing us both down. "I bet you're glad you decided to walk with me." I mumbled, totally embarrassed. "I wouldn't have had it any other way. Besides who else is going to catch you?" He smirked at me as we collected our diplomas.

Alice closed the book and laid her hand over it. "That's really nice Bella, he'll love it."

"I hope so." I plopped myself on the bed next to her.

"I'm going to miss you Al." I hugged her tightly.

"I'm going to miss you more B."

"You're so lucky you're going to L.A. with Jasper. And Edward. Do me a favor okay? Keep an eye on him. I'm worried."

"I will watch him as if my life depended on it. Scout's honor."

"Thanks."

We snuggled into my bed, talking about all of our favorite memories, laughing at the funny, crying with the sad. As it approached one in the morning, Alice turned reached into her bag and pulled out a box.

"One last time?" She smiled.

"Of course. Anything for Leo."

She popped in the Titanic movie, but was out right after Jack and Rose had their moment on the front of the boat. I yawned as I switched the television off. I didn't sleep well at all, I couldn't get my mind to shut the hell up. What if Edward and I didn't have to be apart? What if Edward came to New York with me?

Alice and I ate breakfast in the morning and she gave me a hug before she left.

"I'll stop by tomorrow morning before you head to the airport."

"You better." I smiled as she pulled away.

I laid around the rest of the day, packing up some last minute things. My room looked so empty, so bare. I didn't like it. It looked like I never existed.

Edward told me to meet him at his house at 7 o'clock. I took a shower around 5; I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready. I wanted to look good for him. This was an important night.

I decided to wear a navy blue strapless cocktail dress. He'd made everything sound so fancy, so I didn't want to be underdressed. With one last swipe of my chapstick and a look in the mirror, I headed down the stairs.

"I'll be back later Mom, don't wait up."

She was sitting on the couch, her face turned away. Her shoulders shuddered every couple of seconds. She brought a tissue up to her eye.

"Mom are you okay?"

"Yeah sweetie I'm fine. You go have fun."

"Mom?" I sat down beside her and put my hand on her shoulder.

She turned towards me, revealing red puffy eyes. She had definitely been crying.

"I'm sorry sweetie. I just…I'm really going to miss you."

"Aw Mom." I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. "I'll miss you too." Yeah she was controlling and overbearing and downright bitchy, but she was my mother.

"Bella don't let me ruin your evening." She pulled back and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I said as I lifted myself off the couch. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I walked slowly across the yard, both scared and excited about tonight. This was the last time I'd walk across this small patch of grass. Edward would never climb into my window again. This was it. My eyes started to well with tears.

I knocked on Edward's door. No answer. My hand reached for the doorknob and twisted it slightly. I peeked my head in, looking around the dark house.

"Edward?"

"In here." His voice came from the direction of his kitchen, where there was a soft glow of light.

I followed his voice until I was in the kitchen. He stood in front of me holding a large bouquet of lilies. He was actually…dressed up. Not city dressed up, country dressed up. He even had cowboy boots on and a hat. I set his gift down on the counter and walked towards him.

"This is crazy," I whispered as I looked around in amazement. He had candles lit on the table, with flower petals scattered around.

Edward walked up to me and placed a kiss on my cheek. "I wanted things to be different tonight. I wanted to really surprise you."

"You really surprised me. Cowboy Edward huh?"

"Yeah. I think you've got me addicted to country music. It's kind of having an influence on me." He laughed and tipped his head down. He really did look like a regular old country boy. "Plus I wanted to do a little something for you. I thought you'd like it."

"I do like it." I put my arms around his waist.

He took one of my hands in his and placed the other up on his shoulder as he began to spin us slowly around.

"And we danced…" he sang into my ear. "Out there on that empty hardwood floor…"

"The chairs up and the lights turned way down low," I joined him. "The music played we held each other close."

"And we danced," we said simultaneously. He stopped us and brought his lips down to mine. Something about tonight was so gentle, so much more loving than ever before. It wasn't that the love wasn't there before, because it was. But tonight it truly felt like it was our last night to be together, like we were craving to be close to each other in every way possible.

"I made you dinner," Edward said as he pulled slightly back, keeping one hand around my waist. He bent down and opened the oven. The smell of something amazing perforated my nose.

"Thank you. What is it?"

He pulled a cardboard box out of the oven.

"Pizza from Tom's."

I laughed. "Perfect."

He carried the box over to the candlelit table.

"Wine?" He asked.

"Beer." I answered with a smile.

We had a wonderful candlelit dinner of pizza and beer. It was so perfect, so us.

After we were both fully stuffed we started up towards his room to sit on the balcony.

"Oh I almost forgot, I have a gift for you." I reached for the photo album before we walked up the stairs.

"Bella this is amazing." He was flipping through the pictures, occasionally smiling or laughing. We sat on his balcony, wrapped in a single blanket trying to keep warm in the cool night air. "I didn't get you anything."

"You know I have an idea for that." Might as well go for it. It's worth the risk.

"You do?" He started nibbling on my neck.

"I do." I turned my face to meet his. "Come to New York with me."

He pulled his face back. A hard look came across his face before he managed a smile again.

"Bella…I. I can't."

"Well why the hell not?" I untangled myself from his arms and turned my whole body towards him.

"Bella I have plans. I can't. I can't just, pick up and leave. I can't do that to Jasper. He's my best friend."

"And I'm your girlfriend."

His eyes turned angry. "And you're the one who's leaving!"

I stood up and crossed my arms.

"You're the one who told me to with all that follow your dreams bullshit! It's your fault I'm leaving!"

"It's my fault?" He gestured to himself. "I was going to be the bad guy either way. If I tell you to go then supposedly I don't want to be with you, if I tell you to stay then I'm being the selfish asshole who's keeping you from doing what you want. I can't win with you Bella!" He threw his arms up.

"Fine!" I started to stomp back into his room. "If I'm such a problem for you then don't come tomorrow!" I slammed the door behind me and ran down the stairs, tears streaming down my face.

I dialed Alice's number as I flew into my room.

"Bella?"

"How about another sleepover?" The anxiety and sniffles in my voice were obvious.

"I'll be right over." She hung up and I pulled my legs to my chest, rocking back and forth on my bed.

"Bella what happened?" Alice wrapped her arms around me.

"I don't even know! Everything was going fine and then I had to open my big mouth!"

"What did you say?" She was rubbing my back.

"I asked him to come with me."

She tensed up.

"Oh. What did he say?"

"He totally flipped out. And then I flipped out." I looked her in the eye. "I told him not to come tomorrow."

"Oh sweetie don't worry about it. He'll be there."

"I don't think so."

"I do," she said as she wiped a tear from my cheek. "Come on, let's go to bed. You have a big day tomorrow." She smiled and lay back down on my bed.

She rubbed my back until my crying ceased and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, my eyes were all crusty from my crying.

"I bet I look lovely." I rubbed my eyes as I sat up.

"Beautiful as always," Alice said as she stretched out. "Now get your ass out of bed, we're leaving in a half hour for the airport."

"You're coming with me?"

"Well of course I am silly. I know your mom couldn't take you. Who else would?" I knew who else could, but he obviously wouldn't be.

Jasper pulled up just as we got the last of my bags into the car. He helped load the last big one. I kept stealing glances over at Edward's house, wondering if I should go over there. No. I couldn't do that. He was angry with me; I didn't want to make it worse.

Jasper gave me a hug before I jumped into the car.

"He's not coming is he?" I said as I clung onto him.

"I don't know Bella. He was pretty upset. I'm sorry."

I put a smile on my face as I released him. "It's okay."

"I'm sure Alice and I will be coming to see you sometime."

"You better," I said. "See ya Jazz."

"See ya." He got into his car and drove away.

We got to the airport with plenty of time left. It was a pretty small airport. Alice was even able to go to the terminal with me. She flipped through a magazine she'd bought at the store while my eyes kept looking for him in the crowd.

"Relax Bella, he'll be here. I can feel it. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you Alice, I just. I don't think he can forgive me."

"What does he have to forgive you for? You were both upset, you both said things you didn't mean. This is a stressful situation Bella."

"Yeah maybe you're right."

My hopes died a little more with every minute that passed.

"Now boarding rows 25 and up, Flight 73 to JFK." The announcer stuck a dagger into my heart with those words.

"I'll just wait for the general boarding call. Maybe he's stuck in traffic." This crying thing was becoming a habit of mine. I tried my best to hold it in, but a few tears escaped down my face.

Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Fifteen. No Edward.

"He's. He's not coming Alice." My voice dripped with pain as I clung to Alice, crying hysterically.

For once, Alice didn't know what to say.

"Last call. This is the last call for Flight 72 to JFK. Boarding will cease in fifteen minutes to prepare for take off."

"I should just go Alice. There's no use waiting for something that isn't coming."

We both stood up and embraced. I wiped my tears away and started towards the gate.

"New York here I come." I smiled back at Alice and did one last scan through the crowd. I closed my eyes and turned back towards the gate.

"Ticket please miss?" I handed my boarding pass to the ticket agent. He smiled and handed it back to me. "Have a nice flight." I took a step into the gate.

"WAIT! BELLA!"

Stop imagining things Bella. Don't be ridiculous. You're just making it harder. I took another step.

"PLEASE BELLA! STOP!"

I turned back towards the crowd of people. There he was. I wasn't imagining. I wasn't making him up. He was running towards the gate.

I dropped my bags right in the middle of the gate and ran to him, tears flowing freely once again. I leaped up into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist.

"I'm so sorry Bella." I felt his tears on my face. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I love you."

"I love you," I whispered into his ear.

He spun us around and kissed me. It was like the whole world was moving at a million miles an hour while we were stuck in slow motion. I saw Alice; her hands were brought up to her mouth, which was dropped open in shock.

Edward finally set me down on my feet, keeping his firm grasp on me.

"Bella I was such an idiot. I said things I didn't mean. I was just so…I am so sad about you leaving. It feels like half of my heart is being ripped out."

"I know. Me too." I brought my forehead to his.

"Miss?" It was the ticketing agent. "Miss we're about to close the gate. Are you boarding the plane or not?"

I looked up at Edward and seriously debated giving up on New York, on everything but him and me.

"She's getting on the plane," Edward said, maintaining eye contact with me. "Go do your thing babe. I love you."

He released me and with one more kiss I started back towards the gate.

"Always?" I said through the tears.

"Always." His voice rang clear and absolute, despite his own tears.

He brought his hand up to his forehead as I walked farther down the gate. He was trying to hold himself together and was failing miserably. I shot Alice a look. She was over in a second, wrapping her arms around him and holding him to her. It took everything I had, every ounce of strength in my body to get on that plane. As the airplane door closed, I doubled over in my chair, feeling trapped and alone, knowing that there was no going back now. I was on my way. I didn't know it was possible to be so happy and so devastated at the same time. I knew it know. Knew it better than anything else I'd ever known or ever would know.

**A/N: Tough Chapter guys : ( I know a lot of you wanted him to go to NY with Bella, but I think it's important for their relationship that they be separated and at least try what they had planned for themselves. Anways, reviews are better than Edward in his cowboy get up : )**


	31. Get to Me

**Bella**

"Do you know that you will be here in like 10 hours?" I could barely contain the excitement in my voice. I mean it had been months since I'd seen Edward. And it was his first time coming to New York.

"You don't have it down to the minute?" He asked laughing.

"Well that all depends on traffic and how good you are to the cab driver. And I suggest you be very good to him. Because I have things planned for you. Very dirty things."

"In that case I'll pay him triple if he can get me there in half the time."

I laughed as my roommate Tanya entered our room.

"Is that _Edward?"_ She whispered sarcastically.

I nodded my head smiling.

She put her hand dramatically on her forehead and pretended to faint. "Catch me! Catch me Edward! I'm…I'm…swoooooning." She laughed as she fell the ground.

"Edward I have to go. I'm going to go kill my roommate."

"Okay have fun. I'll call you when I land. Love you."

"Love you too. Have a safe flight." I hung up the phone and tackled Tanya, both of us laughing hysterically. She didn't understand how truly swoon-worthy Edward was. And she wouldn't get to see it first hand for another week. It was winter break and we had a whole month off of school, but she'd be visiting her parents for the first week before coming back here. I decided to forgo my trip home in lieu of Edward coming to visit me here. It was my Christmas present to him.

We'd talked at least once a day since I'd left. I'd only seen him once, when I made a short trip home for a long weekend when he was in Forks. This was the first time I'd be spending more than two nights with him since I left. It had felt like an eternity.

It was just as hard as we both knew it would be. I cried every night for the first couple of weeks. He tried his best to hold it together on the phone, but I knew he was hurting just as bad. We were both just chasing our dreams; sometimes you have to sacrifice to do that. And we were definitely sacrificing.

Edward, Alice and Jasper had gotten an apartment in downtown L.A. Alice was going to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Jasper was playing as a house musician at the bar where he and Edward were bartenders. Edward said that it was pure hell living with Alice and Jasper. Apparently the walls "weren't even close to being thick enough."

I felt his pain on that issue. My roommate Tanya was definitely not hurting in the boy department. Actually I feel like she found a clearance sale and bought the whole lot. It was a different guy every week, showering her with gifts, taking her out to dinner, telling her that he loved her….and showing her unfortunately for me. Damn NYU and its housing. Although I couldn't say I was surprised. Tanya was gorgeous with long strawberry blonde hair, perfect skin, and powder blue eyes. It made me more self-conscious than I cared to admit, even though I was definitely taken in the relationship department. It just sucked to be the pay by the hour motel to someone's five star resort.

Don't get me wrong, I love Tanya. She's fun and interesting and besides from the slut factor reminded me of Alice, which was nice. I missed my best friend and she was the closest thing to her that I had.

"Okay now get off me, I have to get going or I'll miss my plane." She playfully pushed me off of her. We both got up and embraced quickly before she grabbed her bag and started to head out the door.

"Have a nice week Bells. Condoms are in my top drawer. Help yourself."

"Please," I teased. "As if there's any left."

"Ouch," she smiled devilishly and walked out the door.

I lay down on my bed, thinking about Edward and the amazing couple of weeks we were going to have. I was so excited to show him New York. Despite missing him every moment I've been here, it's been the most amazing time of my life. I love my classes, I love my professors, I love the people, I love love love the city. I wanted Edward to love it too.

Edward. I could only imagine how amazing he looked. He was probably tan as hell from that California sun. I envisioned his hair having some natural light streaks in it, bleached out from the sun, his arms muscular and toned from all the heavy lifting he'd been doing stocking at the bar.

I felt my phone vibrate on my desk.

"Alice!" I smiled as I answered.

"Hey!"

"What are you guys up to?"

"Well we just dropped your hubby off at the airport, his plane leaves in about an hour. And now we're going to get some lunch. Say Hi Jasper." I heard the phone exchange hands.

"Hi Jasper…" Jasper laughed.

I heard the smack of Alice's hand to his chest before she took the phone back.

"So Bells. What do you have planned for you two for your visit?"

"I don't know. Anything he wants to do I guess."

She laughed.

"Alice. Does your mind always have to go there?"

"Yes it does. Bella do you realize how long its been for him? He's driving us nuts. Even the girls at the bar can tell something's irking him. We need to change that so you're irking him. In a good way."

"Alice would you stop telling me to have sex with my boyfriend….and what girls?"

"Oh these little L.A. chickies just love Edward. He makes really big tips. They're always buying him drinks, or offering up body shots…."

"Enough! I'll take care of it." I couldn't tell if she was serious or if she was making it up to get a bigger reaction out of me.

There was a knock on my door.

"Good girl. Talk to you later."

"Bye….Come in."

Garrett peeked his head in. He was tall, looked pretty much like an Abercrombie Model with his olive skin, hazel eyes, and washboard abs. But in all fairness he wasn't a dumb jock, he did get in to NYU.

"Hey Bells, what are you up to this weekend?"

"Actually my boyfriend is coming up for the holiday." I couldn't hide the smile.

"Oh. Well that's great." His face fell a little. Why he had a crush on me was beyond my imagination, especially since Tanya was my roommate. He wasn't good at hiding it, but it was harmless.

"Yeah it is. I'm really excited. What are you doing for break?"

"Oh I'm staying here. My parents are vacationing in Europe."

"And you decided to stay here over Europe? What's wrong with you silly?" I lay back and propped myself on my elbows.

"I don't know. I guess I just like New York at the holidays. And plus I knew you'd be here."

This was just as mortifying as every other time he made some comment like that, but I didn't want to embarrass him so I was always nice.

"Oh that's nice Garrett. I'm really excited for you to meet Edward. I know he still wants to thank you for being my savior that night." I laughed to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah yeah. I'm happy to meet him too. Justin is having a party at his penthouse tomorrow night. You guys should definitely come."

"Of course we will."

"Okay great. I'll text you the information." He smiled and stepped out.

I fantasized over Edward for another fifteen minutes before panic started to set in. Why was I so nervous to see him? Maybe because I hadn't seen him in so long? It wasn't a bad nervous, more of an anxious-need-it-to-be-now type of nervous. I found things to keep me busy and keep my mind off of it. I cleaned my room twice, even vacuumed. I glanced up at the clock. Edward should have landed in D.C. about a half hour ago for his layover.

My phone vibrated again. Speak of the devil.

"What's up buttercup?" I leaped excitedly onto the bed, jumping up and down like a little kid on Christmas morning.

He didn't need to say a word for me to know that something was wrong.

"Edward?" I stopped jumping. "What is it?"

"Have you watched the weather lately?" He sounded like he was talking through clenched teeth.

I glanced outside and noticed the snow was starting to fall softly. I frantically grabbed the remote and flipped the TV. to the Weather Channel. My heart sank when I saw a huge blob of blue over the entire Northeast.

"They cancelled your flight didn't they?"

"Yeah. It's an absolute blizzard down here. We almost didn't get clearance to land in the first place. I guess it's all heading up your way and they don't want to chance it. By the looks of the storm, they may not clear any flights to leave for a couple of days. They're expecting two feet of snow."

I can't believe this, but I should have expected it. Of course something bad happens when I'm so excited for something good.

I started crying softly, trying to hold my face away from the phone.

"Baby don't cry." He sounded sad, but as always he was trying to comfort me. "Bella…Come on now. I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise you that. I can't wait to see you love. I'm practically jumping into a million pieces sitting here I'm so excited."

"I just…I just really miss you that's all," I whispered into the phone.

"I know me too. Listen I'll call you if I have any updates okay?"

"Kay."

"Bye love."

"Bye." I hung up the phone as the waterworks really started to pour. I still felt like a kid on Christmas morning, but I felt like the kid who'd been shown all these wonderful presents just within his grasp and then had them violently ripped away from him.

There was another knock on the door.

"Bella are you okay?" It was Garrett…again.

I shuffled to the door and cracked it open.

"Garrett I'm fine. Thanks for checking on me."

"Are you sure? I could hear you all the way down the hall. What's going on?"

"Mother nature decided to ruin my day."

He looked past me and out the window.

"They cancelled his flight." It wasn't a question, more a statement of fact.

"Yeah. He doesn't know when he'll be able to get here."

"I'm sorry Bella. Do you want me to come and keep you company?" He gestured inside my room.

"Ummm….No. Thanks for the offer though. I just feel like being by myself right now. I'll call you if I need anything, I promise." Truthfully I didn't want to be by myself at all, but the only person I wanted to be with was stranded in a blizzard of epic proportions.

I walked slowly back to my bed and curled up next to my body pillow. The tears came back quickly. I felt like such a girl, but I didn't care. My hand reached over and turned on my radio. My crying fit soon lulled me into a deep sleep.

I woke up with a start, springing up from my bed. My clock read 9:30 p.m. I'd slept the whole evening. Great. Now I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. I walked over to my window and peeked outside. Edward was definitely right; the snow was piling up in mountains. My growling stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten dinner, so I grabbed a takeout menu and dialed the familiar number.

"Hi I need to place an order for delivery. A number four with an ice tea."

"Can I get an address?"

"I'm in University Hall. Last name Swan."

"Alright it's probably going to be an hour or so with the weather."

"Okay that's fine. Thanks."

I sat back down on my bed and gazed out the window at the falling snow, having my own pity party. I lay on my stomach and grabbed for my body pillow.

Forty-five minutes later my doorbell rang. At least my food was here and I could get fat while having my own pity party.

I leaped up and grabbed my cash before rushing to my intercom.

"I'll buzz you in. I'm in room 310." I pushed the button. It buzzed and then stopped, indicating they'd opened the door.

I ran to the mirror and made sure I looked presentable. Even though it was just the delivery boy, I didn't need to look like a worn out hag. My eyes were red and puffy, but it wasn't took bad. I pulled my hair back and walked back over to the door, tapping my foot.

Three knocks. Thank goodness. I know everyone says this, but I could have eaten an elephant. I opened the door, counting one last time through my cash. "Still snowing pretty bad out there?"

"I've seen worse."

I froze, afraid to look up. My eyes blinked hard before I forced myself to look up.

I dropped the cash on the floor as my hand reached up to touch his face to make sure he was really standing there.

"How…..?" I whispered, bringing my other hand up to his face.

"I rented a car and drove here."

"But that's like a five hour drive."

"Actually it was about seven with the snow."

Edward walked into my room, carrying his duffel.

As soon as he turned around I flung myself into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

"I can't believe you did that." I kissed his neck and his jaw.

"Well I had to get to you. There was no getting around it. No ifs, ands, or buts, I needed to be with you." He held my face in his hands and pressed his lips gently to mine. I felt his damp hair on my forehead.

Tears started coming down my face again.

"Happy tears," I choked out when I realized that I'd probably confused him again with my waterworks. My lips found their way to his again.

Someone cleared their throat from the hallway.

The deliveryman was standing in my doorway, holding my bag of food.

"Take the money, leave the food," I said against Edward's lips. He laughed as the deliveryman picked up the cash, set the food on the floor and walked away shaking his head.

Edward finally pulled his face away from mine and walked over to pick up the food.

"Geez are you feeding an army or something?"

"Just me." I laughed. I could tell I was just glowing. He made me ten notches happier just by simply being in the same room. I couldn't stop smiling.

"What do we have here?" He opened the bag and peeked inside.

I grabbed the bag and threw it down, ignoring the cries from my stomach. My hands reached for the buckle on his jeans. "Later."

He smiled as he lifted his shirt up. I was right about the tanned body and sculpted muscles. It was almost too much to handle. My hands ran over his rock hard abs as he kissed my neck.

"What brought all this on?"

"Alice."

He pulled back, looking very confused. "Alice?" His brow furrowed.

"Just shut up and kiss me." I pulled his face back down to mine.

**A/N: Anyone smell trouble a-brewing with Garrett AND Tanya?.... ; )**


	32. Amazing

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm sooo sorry this chapter has taken so long. I've been crazy busy with school and work. Hope you all enjoy it! XOXO**

**Edward**

Honk! Honk, honk. hoooooonk!

"Hey I'm walking here!"

"What's the big idea?"

I pulled the pillow over my ear.

"Move it buddy!"

I squinted one eye open.

"Bella what the hell is all that?"

"That is New York my love. Isn't it amazing?" She was actually excited about all this noise?

"Amazing? Doesn't that annoy the shit out of you?" I rolled over on her single bed. Bella was sitting at her desk, fiddling around on her computer.

"Actually no. You get used to it. I don't think I could sleep now without it, or live anywhere else." She said it so casually, like something that was obvious.

I looked down at the sheets. Live anywhere else? Meaning that she wasn't coming back to the West Coast. Fuck my life.

"Edward I didn't….I didn't mean it. I just…" She looked at me apologetically.

"No. No it's fine. I'm glad that you're happy here. I really am." I smiled as she scooted herself over to the bed and crawled on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her waist and nuzzled into her chest.

"I'm especially happy now that you're here." She kissed the top of my head. "So what do you want to do today?"

"What do _you_ want to do today?"

"I want to show you New York. I want to show you everything."

"Well I will be here for a few weeks, so we don't have to see it all in one day."

"Okay then, just half of it today."

She got up and walked to her closet, grabbing a towel for herself and throwing me one.

"Boy's shower is down the hall to the left."

"Boy's shower?" I pouted my lips out.

"It's the morning Edward, I can't sneak you into the girl's shower now." She laughed as she picked up her shower caddy and walked out of the room.

I lingered in bed a few minutes before grabbing my own shampoo, soap and toothbrush out of my bag and heading out the door.

The dorm hallways were colorful and full of posters and pictures. As I walked along I read the names on all the doors. Allison and Sadie, Trevor and Trent, Joey and…Garrett? Bella's Garrett? Maybe now was the time to thank him for his help….and maybe set some ground rules. The way Bella talked about him made it seem like he was around a lot, and I didn't like that. Not one fucking bit.

I knocked three times and waited. No answer. I knocked again. Nothing. Guess it'll have to wait.

The sounds of the showers started getting louder as I approached the last door in the hallway.

_Boy's showers_. I sighed and laughed at how juvenile that sounded. I flung the towel over my shoulder, put my toothbrush in my mouth and walked in.

The steam from the hot showers fogged my vision momentarily. When I could finally see, I noticed that almost all the showers were full.

The showers were separated by chest high tiled walls and lined the exterior of the room. There was an island in the middle with sinks and mirrors, where several guys were standing and talking while they shaved. I ran my fingers across my own stubble thoughtfully, but decided to let it go for today.

The two men at the sink eyed me as I walked over to an unoccupied shower and turned on the water. My clothes dropped to the floor as I stepped inside and let the water wash over me.

The guys at the sink were still looking at me as they talked.

"So I decided tonight's the night. I'm gonna make it happen with her. She won't be able to keep her hands off me." What a cocky asshole.

The other guy laughed as he examined his cleanly shaven face in the mirror. "Yeah but didn't she say something about a boyfriend?"

"I'm not worried about it." He leaned forward and patted himself on the cheek and smiled smugly. "Who could resist this smile?" His friend playfully punched him on the shoulder. I rolled my eyes. Who the fuck was this kid?

I finished my shower and wrapped the towel around myself as I walked to the sinks to brush my teeth. I could show off too Mr. Wonderful. I may not look like I just stepped out of a modeling catalogue but these last few months in California had done me good. I ran my fingers through my dripping hair before squeezing some toothpaste onto my brush.

My eyes kept darting to the two men as I brushed.

The asshole was spraying some God-awful cologne on while his buddy stared practicing different facial expressions in the mirror. These two go into NYU? Where are the cameras? Where's Ashton? Cause if I'm not getting Punk'd right now this is fucking ridiculous.

I shook my head as I dropped my head down and spit. As I walked out the door, my eyes locked with the asshole's.

"Hey how's it going?" He did the upward nod. Who does that?

"Pretty good, how about yourself?" I paused and turned towards him. This guy was fucking unreal, but he was entertaining so I'd play along.

"I'm great man. Are you new here?"

"Just visiting." I smiled.

"Great, great. Well enjoy it. Maybe I'll see you around." He held out his hand.

"Thanks," I said as I gave it a good, solid handshake and turned to leave. What a douche-bag.

Bella was already back in her room, brushing through her sopping wet hair that was stuck and matted against her bare back.

"Geez Bella, do you always sit in your room half naked?"

"Only when you're around." She smiled at me in the mirror. She spun around. "Speaking of half-naked…" She eyed me seductively as she stood up, letting her towel fall from her waist to the floor.

She ran her fingers along my stomach, resting her finger on the top of the towel that rested loosely below my hips. She smiled as she looked down and pulled at the towel. It joined hers on the floor.

"Don't…Don't you think we should umm…lock the door?" I said as her lips grazed my hipbones.

"Nope." She kissed down my thigh. "It makes it a little more dangerous." Her eyes flittered up to me. Damn she looked sexy. I grabbed her hair gently and pulled her face up to mine.

Two seconds later there was a knock at the door. Fuck my life. Again.

"Just a second…" Bella was scrambling for some clothes. She threw a pair of sweatpants at me and I quickly put them on before helping her find something. I grabbed a pair of my boxers and threw them at her as she pulled a tank top over her head. After we were both presentable she skipped towards the door as I started reading a magazine on her bed.

"Garrett! Hi! I'm so glad you're here. You can finally meet Edward." She turned back to me with a large grin. "Edward?" I stood up as the door opened. "This is Garrett." No. Fucking. Way. It was the prick from the shower room. His wide eyes probably matched my own as recognition set in. I bet he was doing the same thing I was; going over everything he'd said in the bathroom with me there. About "getting" some girl. About this said girl's boyfriend. I felt my hands clench at my sides. Bella's eyes moved from me to him and back again.

"Edward?"

I forced a smile and put my hand out.

"Great to meet you Garrett. I've heard so much about you."

He took my hand, while still eying me closely.

"Yeah you too."

"Hey thanks for helping my girl out that first night. I owe you." I squeezed his hand, maybe a little too tightly, before I released it and wrapped my arms around Bella. If this guy thought I wasn't going to be a problem, he was severely mistaken. I'd be his worst fucking nightmare if he messed with my girl. Plain and simple.

"So what are you guys doing today?" He gulped hard. What a pussy. He was nervous. Good.

"I thought I'd show Edward some of the sights. Maybe head down to Central Park."

"Oh that's great. You'll still be able to make it to the party tonight right? Cause there's no use of me going if you won't be there." He smiled his "All-American Boy" smile. Watch it punk. You're getting a little too bold.

"Yeah of course. Wouldn't miss it."

I narrowed my eyes at Garrett as he turned to leave.

"So nice to meet you Edward. See you guys later." This guy was as fake as Rosalie's boobs. A real Leave-It-to-Beaver type on the outside. Drove me fucking nuts.

"Bye Garrett." Bella smiled and turned to me. "Okay let's get dressed. We have a lot to see today." She hummed as she scavenged through her closet, looking for something to wear. "Make sure to dress warm. New York is not California."

After we had bundled ourselves up we walked through the city. She was definitely right about it not being California. I think my body had become so used to the warm weather that I became extremely sensitive to the cold. She laughed as I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered for warmth.

We walked down the streets, she pointed out places that she'd been or wanted to go. Times Square was full of people, bustling about carrying bags and bags of what I assumed to be Christmas gifts. We rounded the corner and eventually made it to Rockefeller Center.

Bella tugged excitedly at my arm. "Oh my gosh! The ice-skating! I completely forgot. I've always wanted to do that."

I smiled and pulled her towards the rink.

"What are you doing?"

"_We're_ going ice skating."

She laughed and kissed me on the cheek as I paid the man. He handed us our skates and we sat down along with other people to lace them up. By the time I was done with mine, they looked like there had been an explosion of laces. Everywhere. Bella chuckled and bent down to redo mine, as hers were perfect in everyway.

I tried to stand up, but wobbled a little and sat back down.

"Have you ever done this before?" Bella raised an eyebrow.

"Um. No." I shrugged my shoulders.

Bella reached for my hand and pulled me up. She placed her hands on my waist to steady me.

"Okay take a step."

I stepped forward.

"And another."

I stepped again. We were at the edge of the ice.

"Okay good. Now hold on to the sides of the rink while I step on."

She stepped back gracefully onto the ice with no problems and reached for my hand.

I took it and she pulled me onto the ice.

"Nice and easy. Just…push off with your foot. Like roller-skating."

I tried to just…push off with my foot. But my foot had other plans. Instead of easily sliding across the ice, it scratched and just kept going. My foot flew behind me as I lost my balance. My arms flailed as Bella watched helplessly, not knowing what to do. I did a turn and a spin and finally started to go down, reaching out for her. She held her hands out trying to grab me, but I grabbed her instead, bringing us both down hard. I landed flat on my back and she landed on my chest.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Apparently ice-skating was dangerous.

She was laughing hysterically. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"The only thing hurt is my pride." I looked around at the other people. A kid who looked about five whizzed past us and snickered as he looked back. "Amateurs…" He shook his head and continued on.

Bella slapped my chest and continued laughing. I sat in shock that I'd just been owned by a five year old kid.

She got up and helped me to my feet. I grabbed the side of the rink for balance.

"I think I should sit out Bells. This obviously isn't my forte."

"Come on just one lap. You can hold onto the side with that hand, and my hand with the other." She reached out her hand smiling.

"Okay fine."

We made it…very, very slowly, around the rink. I stepped off as she continued on. I unlaced my boots and just sat watching her. She was beautiful as ever, her feet moving smoothly over the ice as the snow fell lightly around her. After she got tired of skating, we turned in our shoes and continued on with our tour. She pulled me into a small coffee shop to warm up before heading back to her dorm.

"I'm exhausted," I said yawning. I stretched out on her bed.

"Me too." She crawled up next to me and placed her head on my chest.

"Nap?"

"Yes please." She sat up and closed the curtains before lying back down. I was out in moments. New York City can really tire you out.

I felt a poke to my chest.

"Baby, you have to wake up," Bella whispered into my ear.

"Why?" I kept my eyes closed.

"Because I told Garrett we'd go to that party tonight. And we should leave in about an hour."

I slowly opened my eyes. Garrett. I didn't want Bella anywhere near him, but maybe this would be a good time for me to have a talk with him. Set the ground rules. And pummel his ass if he tries anything.

I stretched and sat up. I could feel the messiness of my hair without even looking at it. I could go with the disheveled just out of bed look. Just out of bed look? Yeah I could rock the sex hair to my advantage. I smiled slightly as I stood up.

Bella was sitting at her desk, leaning towards a lit up mirror doing her makeup.

"You look beautiful babe," I bent down and kissed her cheek softly, careful not to mess up her makeup.

I picked a shirt up out of my pile of stuff and smelled. Smelled clean enough to me. I pulled it over my head and sat back down on the bed. Well I was ready to go. Why the hell did she wake me up so early?

I watched her, fully entertained, while she finished getting ready. She finished her makeup and did her hair. I was perfectly content, especially when she was putting her lip-gloss on. Sexy as hell.

She walked over to her closet and pulled out a long t-shirt. After sliding it over her head and adjusting it on her body, she slipped on some fancy looking shoes and grabbed her purse.

"Um baby?"

She spun around.

"Yeah?"

"Did you forget your pants?" The shirt barely covered her ass.

"This is a dress Edward why would I wear pants with it."

"Okay that might be part of a dress, but where's the rest of it?"

"Edward." She looked at me with a smile that said I was exaggerating. I was not exaggerating and I was not backing down.

Twenty minutes later we left her dorm, walking hand in hand. We compromised. She wore black tights with the dress. The good thing was it covered her legs and her ass so nobody could ogle her. The bad thing was that she looked damn good before and now I couldn't ogle her. I guess I had to pick my battles. And I preferred if Garrett didn't have perusing rights over my girlfriend.

Bella pulled my hand down the street and my walking nightmare from earlier in the day sent me into a panic.

"I love you for trying to save money, but please…please can we take a taxi?"

She laughed. "Of course we can. I forgot your little innocent feet aren't used to New York walking."

She hailed a cab like a pro and we were on our way.

We pulled up to a swanky looking apartment complex, complete with a valet and a doorman. I paid the taxi as we jumped out and headed inside, away from the cold. Bella pressed the "PH" key on the elevator.

"'PH'?"

"Pent house."

Great. This guy knows people who live in a penthouse. I can barely afford to buy the magazine.

The elevator doors opened to a flurry of people. There were balloons all over and music filled the air. Bella smiled and pulled me in, walking us past an ice sculpture. An ice sculpture? Who really buys those?

Garrett spotted us right away; he must have been keeping an eye out.

I shook his hand a little too hard again.

"Can I get you guys some drinks?"

"Whiskey," we both said in unison.

Garrett gave us a looked of annoyance before turning and walking away. He returned moments later with two small glasses.

"Cheers," he said, holding his drink up. We clinked ours with his before taking a sip. I watched Bella closely. Was he dumb enough to drug her drink? No. No Edward stop being paranoid.

A few drinks later, Bella forced me onto the dance floor. I was awkward at best, but I didn't care. Garrett was dancing with some dumb bimbo while he looked longingly at me and Bella. I wrapped my arm around her waist and she moved against me. I turned her forcefully towards me, keeping my eyes on Garrett, and kissed her right in the middle of the dance floor. Her hands found their way to my neck and mine flew way south of her waist. I wasn't playing dirty, I was just staking my claim. He needed to know that I wasn't going anywhere.

Bella broke our kiss and pulled back smiling.

"What was that for?" She was a little tipsy. She swayed back and forth as she spoke.

"Cause I felt like it."

"You should feel like it more often." She kept her eyes open as she placed her lips gently on mine. "I have to use the little girl's room. I'll be right back." She skipped away from the dance floor.

I walked over to Garrett, smiling smugly, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Mind if we have a talk." Since this was one of the only times I planned on being separated from Bella tonight, I figured it might be a good time to have our little chat.

"Yeah sure." He dismissed the girl he was dancing with and turned towards me.

"Look. I don't know what your game is, or what you think is going to happen. But Bella is mine. She'll always be mine. No questions asked. You know I heard you this morning in the showers. If I ever…ever..hear you talking about Bella that way again you're going to have a serious problem. And you better hope that she never hears about it."

I turned to leave, fairly confident my point had been expressed clearly.

"What are you afraid if she knew she had options she'd choose me over you?"

I smiled again and spun back towards him, bringing my face within inches of his. The crowd around us had stopped dancing and was staring at our obviously intense exchange.

"I wouldn't be worried about her. I'd be worried about you. I don't want to see what'd she'd do if she knew you were just being her friend to get in her pants and win her over from me." I laughed and turned back around.

Bella was standing there with her arms crossed in front of her. Her foot tapped so loudly against the floor that you could hear it over the music.

Her eyes looked straight past me into Garrett's.

"Bella…I…he…" Garrett was stuttering to try and get out a pathetic excuse. I stepped aside to enjoy the show. This should be entertaining.

She walked slowly over to him and gave him a swift kick to the nuts. He fell to his knees in front of her. Her hand connected beautifully with his face. She fell forward a little bit from the force she put into it, but she stood herself back up and straightened her dress.

"I'm done. Let's go." She reached out her hand and we walked past Garrett, who was curled up on the floor.

"You know maybe I was wrong. I think I did want to see that." I chuckled to myself as we walked by.

"Nice hit babe." I high fived her as the elevator door closed.

I felt her go limp at my side and collapse at my feet.

"Bella?" I shook her, trying to get any response. Nothing. She was completely lifeless at my feet.

The elevator doors opened and I carried her out into the lobby.

"Can someone call an ambulance please?" I tried to stay as calm as possible. She was still breathing. It was like she was in a deep sleep, or took some cold medicine or something. My thoughts flew back to the drink Garrett had handed her. That bastard. He drugged her damn drink.


	33. Picture

**A/N: A few things: **

**-The playlists on my profile should now be clickable to take you to the actual playlist so you can listen, instead of just listing the songs : )  
- I finished my other story Brand New. YAY. So if you haven't read it yet you really should. And plus there's a sneak peak of my next story at the end of it so theres a little reward for reading it. Unless you guys are going to be stinkers and just skip to the last chapter haha. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. XOXO**

**Bella**

"Edward. This is ridiculous. I feel perfectly fine. The doctors said I was perfectly fine. I am perfectly fine." Edward had insisted on carrying me up to my dorm room.

"They said you would be completely fine if you stayed off your feet."

"Sweetie I think you took that a little too literal." I looked down at my legs swinging freely as they hung from his arms.

"I can't take chances with you. You're too important." He opened the door and softly laid me down on the bed.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I would bet a million dollars it was Alice. She'd been calling non-stop since Edward called her last night in a panic.

"Alice, I'm fine."

"Oh my gosh Bella. I'm freaking out. Like. Freaking out. What happened? What did the doctors say?"

"They said it was just some kind of sleeping pill. I just reacted so intensely to it because it was mixed with the alcohol."

"And what happened about the dickwad who slipped it to you?"

"I took care of him." I smiled as I remember my foot connecting with Garrett's groin.

"Well what about calling the cops?"

"I don't think they could proved it was him." I shrugged my shoulders. "I know how much of an asshole he is now. And I'm sure he won't bother me any more. I think I made that pretty clear last night." Edward eyes darted to me. I knew he wanted me to turn Garrett into the police, but honestly I didn't see the point. Not that I appreciate being drugged, but I'm fine now and he'd be holed up in his room for the next few days holding an ice pack over his dick. That should teach him his lesson.

"Okay well tell Edward he better take good care of you. Love you B."

"Love you too. Talk to you soon."

I hung up the phone and placed it on my nightstand.

"Don't look at me like that Edward."

"Bella you're being ridiculous. He…drugged you. Do you even understand what could have happened if I wasn't there….?" He shook his head.

"Yes. But it didn't." And I thought Garrett was smart. Why the hell would he try anything with Edward there? Idiot.

I spent the next few days laying in bed. Edward ran out several times a day to go get me food or anything else I needed. He was like my own personal nurse. I swear I was going to punch him if he asked me how I was feeling one more time.

On Christmas Day, we watched the 24-hour marathon of "A Christmas Story" on TBS. To any other girl that would have seemed like a pretty dull Christmas, but of course they've never been able to spend 24 hours in bed with Edward Cullen. That was the farthest thing from dull.

"You know I did get you a gift…it just won't arrive for a few days…" Edward nuzzled into my hair.

"Edward." I smiled. "You didn't have to do that. You were enough of a present."

"No. You'll love this. I promise."

A week later was New Year's Eve and I'd still failed to receive my present. Not that I needed anything material from him, but I was starting to get curious as to what this mysterious gift was.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Edward asked, flipping through the channels.

This was odd. He'd been the one who had basically insisted that I stay in bed and not go anywhere since…"the incident." Why was he all the sudden so interested in what we were doing tonight?

"I…don't know. Did you want to do something?"

"Well it is New Year's Eve Bella. And we're in New York."

"So I take it you want to go to Times Square."

"I think it'd be a good experience for us. It's not like you get to watch the ball drop right in front of your eyes."

There was a commotion outside my door. Edward locked eyes with me before walking over and opening it slowly.

Tanya and her mound of luggage fell through the doorway.

She looked up at Edward from the floor with an embarrassed grin. He reached his hand down and pulled her up.

"You must be Tanya?" He said laughing.

"And you must be Edward." She shook his hand and flashed her dazzling smile. I glared at her sarcastically. _Don't you pull that shit on my boyfriend_.

"I didn't think you were going to be back for another few days?" I asked as she skipped over and gave me a hug.

"Yeah I know. But it's New Year's Eve. And it's New York. Duh."

"See she knows what's up." Edward pointed to Tanya. "I was just trying to talk Bella into going downtown tonight."

"Yes! Come on Bells." Tanya jumped up and down with excitement. "It's New Year's Eve."

"It's New York," Edward chimed in. Well this is annoying.

"Okay fine."

Tanya screamed again, Edward smiled at me.

"Come on Bella, get a little excited."

"Woohoo," I said very unenthusiastically as I did a weak fist pump.

"Well I'm glad we decided that before your gift arrived." Edward sat down on the edge of my bed.

There was a knock at the door. Edward checked his watch and smiled.

"Speak of the devil." He jumped up and went to answer the door.

He opened it slightly and peeked outside. He spun his head back and grinned at me.

"Merry Christmas love." He swung the door open.

My hand flew up to cover my gaping mouth.

"Alice!" The tears started streaming down my face as I leaped out of bed and ran to her. Pretty soon we were hugging and jumping up and down and screaming all at the same time. I eventually noticed Jasper standing behind her, carrying all her bags.

I pulled him in for hug after Alice and I finally let go of each other.

"I can't believe you guys are here!" I was beyond excited. I've seen Edward more than I've seen Alice since I've left.

"It was all Edward's idea." Alice nodded to Edward.

I wrapped my arms around him and rose up on my toes so I could kiss him. "Best Christmas present ever." I can't believe I get to have some of my favorite people here with me. It was amazing.

"Jazz, why don't you drop the bags and we can go out for a smoke? Leave the girls alone for a few."

Jasper looked more than happy to oblige. I couldn't imagine carrying all of Alice's luggage was easy, unless you were a bodybuilder.

"Oh Tanya, I'm sorry. This is my very best friend in the entire world, Alice. Alice this is my roommate Tanya."

Alice's eyes got big. "Is that…Prada?" She pointed to Tanya's luggage.

"It is."

"I like you already." Alice plopped on the bed and patted for me to sit next to her.

For the next hour the three of us talked about everything. I told Alice about everything that's been going on here, and she talked about her life in L.A. and her classes. I winced as I told Tanya about what happened with Garrett. She reacted almost as bad as Alice did. They quickly devised a plot to cut off his balls and burn them with a hair straightener.

The boys were back soon and we decided we should probably get ready to go since it was New York, and New Year's, and the streets were probably already crowded with people. Alice and Tanya looked beautiful of course, I felt plain once again.

Edward squeezed my hand as we left the dorms and told me I looked amazing. He always had a way of making me feel beautiful, even if I didn't trust that I did. It was one of my favorite things about him. And he didn't seem to be paying much attention to Tanya and her lady twins that were making an appearance out the front of her shirt. That made me feel a lot better. I trusted him, I just didn't really trust her, not with Edward. She had a "thing" when it came to guys. Especially ones that were taken. It was all a game to her, like she stole people's boyfriends for sport. And it was a game she very rarely lost. I hope she knew well enough that Edward was off limits, way, way off limits. So off limits that I would have no problem going trailer trash bitch on her ass if she tried anything.

Thankfully, Tanya used her skankified outfit to our advantage. Her and her lady twins scored us some bottles of wine from the Liquor store down the street.

Words could not describe how crazy Times Square was. It was wall-to-wall people, no room to breathe or move or do pretty much anything. And we weren't even that close. We decided to move back a little so we could actually turn and look at each other. We all sat in a line on the curb, each sipping our bottles of wine. There was music and balloons and glitter everywhere. Alice pulled Jasper up to dance with her in the middle of the street. They looked like pros doing a swing dance type move.

"Where'd you learn all that? I asked.

"We're taking a class," Alice said as Jasper dipped her. She laughed as he kissed her neck and brought her back upright.

"Really? That's awesome." It was hard for me to imagine Jasper in a swing dance class.

Edward stood up and offered me his hand. "Yeah and they dragged my pathetic ass to every one of their classes."

"No. Way." I took his hand and he pulled me up. Pretty soon we were swinging around like Noah and Allie from the Notebook. I laughed as he danced around me. He was obviously drunk. There's no way he would do this sober.

We took turns taking pictures. One of the girls, one of the guys, a couple of the couples. This would definitely go down in my book as one the best nights of my life. I had my best friend and my boyfriend and everything was perfect. I'm so glad I decided to stop being a Scrooge and come out tonight. It was definitely worth it. I didn't mind the cold, or the snow, or the dizzy feeling the wine was giving me. All that mattered was me and them and now.

Midnight was approaching fast and we all stood up, awaiting the start of the countdown. Alice was perched on Jasper's back, her legs wrapped around his waist. Edward stood behind me, his arms curled around my shoulders. I felt a little sorry for Tanya. She was the only one who didn't have anybody. She stood next to us, by herself, playing idly with a strand of her hair.

The ball started to light up as the crowd cheered and began the countdown.

"10….9….8…" I looked up at Edward and smiled.

"7…6…5…4…" Alice was cheering at the top of her lungs while Jasper laughed at her enthusiasm.

"3…" I turned around to face Edward, preparing for my New Year's Kiss.

"2…" I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"1…" I whispered as the crowd cheered. I jumped up, so my feet were dangling in the air and nuzzled my nose to his.

"Happy New Year baby."

"Happy New Year." He smiled and pressed his lips to mine, in what could only be described as the best New Year's kiss New York has ever seen. He spun us slowly around in circles, our lips never parting, the world moving in slow motion around us. I was too distracted to see Jasper tilting his head up to kiss Alice, or Alice holding his face gently in place. I was too distracted to notice the drunken hobo wearing an "I Love New York" shirt puking his guts out right beside us. And I was too distracted to notice the look of pure jealousy Tanya gave me as Edward and I spun around in our own perfect little world.


	34. Don't Make Me Wait

**A/N: Alright guys so I think that the chapter after this one is going to be the last one... *tear* BUT I will be starting my new story after finals week is over. I'll also include another exclusive preview of it next chapter. XOXO**

**Edward**

"Thanks for coming Jazz. New Years wouldn't have been the same without you." I slapped Jazz a high five and glanced over at Bella and Alice. They were refusing to let go of each other and bawling their fucking eyes out. Fuck. Girls are too damn emotional about this shit. Jazz and I? All we need is a thanks for coming, a fist pound, and maybe the occasional chest bump. No tears, no crying, no sobbing. Zip. Clean and simple break, no bullshit. Girls…especially Bella and Alice…completely different story. It was like a fucking soap opera drama unfolding before my eyes. I had to handle this delicately.

"Bella sweetie?" I placed my hand lightly on the small of her back. "Alice has to go now, or she'll miss her flight."

"But. But. I don't want her to go…" She sobbed onto Alice's shoulder. I rolled my eyes at Jazz and prompted him to work on Alice.

"Al…we really do have to go."

"But. But. I don't want to go." Alice grasped onto Bella's shirt.

"This is the final boarding call for Flight 108 to Los Angeles. Final boarding call…"

Thank you Airport Gods.

Bella finally pulled back from Alice.

"Go." She smiled. "I don't want you to be late." She sniffled and gently pushed Alice away.

"I'll come back soon, I promise."

"You better." I took Bella in my arms and tried to comfort her as Alice and Jasper walked through the security checkpoint.

"I'm sorry they couldn't stay more than a couple of days babe. But with me gone, Jasper has to get back to work. And Alice's classes start soon." I wiped a tear falling down her cheek. "Babe." She sniffled. "Come on." I lifted her chin up, making her eyes meet mine. "Relax. Everything's going to be just fine. I love you." I pressed my lips against hers, in an effort to calm her down.

Her crying ceased. She wiped the tears away from her face and jumped into the taxi that was waiting for us.

She was silent the whole way home. I started thinking maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring Alice here. I didn't realize how hard it would be for her when she had to leave.

Tanya was gone when we came back, thankfully. Her flirting hadn't gone unnoticed, by me anyway. I hoped Bella was as oblivious as she appeared to be. And it wasn't that I was attracted or interested in Tanya in anyway whatsoever. I just didn't want to deal with that drama again. As far as I was concerned, Bella is the only woman I want and the only woman I'll ever want. End of the fucking story.

It was just starting to get dark outside. I sat on her bed and stared at the city lights flickering against the dark blue sky. Somehow the lights were different here than in L.A. They were brighter, warmer. They felt more like home.

It all reminded me that I was leaving in two days. And for the first time I was unsure. I didn't know if I could physically do it. I couldn't leave her again, but I couldn't abandon my life back in L.A. I'd worked hard for the past few months, making a life for myself out there. I owed it to myself to play that out.

"Hey I'm sorry…' she whispered, interrupting my thoughts.

"For what babe?" I rubbed her arm softly.

"For that…scene at the airport. I was emotional and I overreacted. I think…I think part of me was freaking out because even though I was saying goodbye to Alice, and I'm going to miss her like hell…it made me think of two days from now when I'm going to be doing the same with you and I completely lost it." She shook her head. "It was kind of embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed. It's fine. Everything's going to be just fine."

The lights flickered. Once. Twice. Then went completely out.

"What…is happening?" I looked around, completely confused.

Bella jumped off the bed and went to the window. We watched in succession as parts of the city went dark.

"It's a blackout…" Bella said slowly.

"A blackout? Well what the hell do we do now?" Now I was the one freaking out. Blackout meant no power. No power meant loss of computer. Loss of IPod. Loss of T.V. Loss of sanity.

Bella smiled as she grabbed some matches and started lighting candles around the room.

"We…don't do anything. We wait."

"Well…" I gulped hard. "How long do we wait?"

"Hours…a couple days maybe."

"Days?!"

"Sometimes."

"You sit in the dark without power for days?"

"Baby…relax." She climbed onto my lap. "The school has a generator with just enough power to keep the water running. So at least we won't have to pee in the streets and we can still shower. Plus…I think we can find some great uses of the darkness." She lifted her shirt over her head. Maybe blackouts weren't so bad. Maybe it would give me a chance to give Bella the second part of her Christmas present. But not now. I was a little preoccupied.

"I wish you didn't have to leave…" Bella snuggled up to my bare chest.

"Me too." I ran my fingers softly down her spine.

She sat up and pulled some of the covers up around her body, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Tell me a story…" She grabbed my hand and brushed her lips across my knuckles, then enclosed it in her hands and set it on her knee.

"Once upon a time…" She laughed at my opening.

I cleared my throat.

"Once upon a time…there was a beautiful Princess…named Bella." I brought my hand up and brushed her cheek.

"Who was engaged to be married to a terrible Prince…named Emmett."

"Ewwww," she laughed again.

"One day she meant a boy…on a hilltop, during a festival in the town. But this was not any boy. He was incredibly handsome and talented and charming and almost perfect in every-"

"Yeah yeah. Move along buddy…"

I shot her a sarcastic look of disgust.

"Continue on please…" She inched closer.

I cleared my throat.

"Anyway…as I was saying..before I was so rudely interrupted. His name was Edward. And he was the flyest motherfucker in town."

"And they fell in love…" She added. "Head over heels, fully, completely, truly in love."

"They did. He loved her more than anything in the world. And even though the Princess's mom and Prince Emmett tried to keep them apart, it was no use. They were meant to be together. And even when an evil spell made the beautiful Princess forget her love for Edward…they found their way back to each other." Well. I guess I was going for it now. "And when they got separated by miles and miles…they found their way back to each other." I reached down into my bag and felt around for what I was looking for. My fingers grasped around the small box. "And Edward finally realized…that he never wanted to be away from his Princess ever again." I took a deep breath and started to pull the small box out of my bag. "So he-"

The door flew open.

"Holy fucking blackout!" Tanya was drunk. It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. I quickly tucked the tiny box into my pocket.

Bella and I pulled for the covers, making sure we were adequately covered after our blackout activity.

"I think I might take a shower…" Bella reached for her robe as Tanya passed out on her bed.

"Yeah good idea." I was pretty gross. And I had to clear my head from what just happened…or almost happened.

I grabbed a towel and a pair of sweatpants and headed down to the showers. I took longer than usual, but Bella still wasn't back by the time I was. Tanya still looked passed out in her bed. I rubbed the towel fiercely against my dripping wet hair, trying to dry it a little better. I closed my eyes and wrapped the towel around my neck. I felt Bella's arms wrap around me.

I smiled. "I didn't even hear you come in…" I turned around.

"Tanya what the hell are you doing?" I tried to push her away.

"I didn't get to give you a New Year's kiss Edward." Her hands were reaching for my face.

"Tanya. No. You're drunk. You need to go to bed."

"Why don't you join me?" Her face was inches from mine. "I won't tell if you won't."

I was frozen. I didn't know what to do. She leaned forward and tried to kiss me. I put my hands on her shoulders and started to firmly push her away.

Bella came through the door, singing happily to herself. She stopped dead in her tracks. I could only imagine what this looked like to her, but it wasn't. At all. It was as far from that as possible.

"What the fuck is this?" Her eyes glared at me and then at Tanya.

**Bella**

I can't believe this is happening again. I shut my eyes, my breathing increased as my hands clenched up into fists.

"Speak!" I yelled towards them. "Someone!"

"I can't help it that I'm attractive Bella…" Tanya stumbled over her own feet and fell into Edward. He caught her and stood her back up.

"Get out!" I pointed towards the door. "GET OUT!"

Tanya smiled and walked out the door.

"I swear to you Tanya, you come back here tonight and you'll regret it. You can move into another room tomorrow."

"Ooo I'm scared." Her laughs echoed down the hallway.

I ran to her closet and grabbed an armful of clothes. Stomping back to the hallway, I tossed them outside. I returned to her closet, completely emptying the contents into the hallway, before moving to her dresser.

"What's the story this time Edward?"

"Bella this is ridiculous! I was pushing her away!" He threw his hands up in defense.

I paused and turned towards him. "Like you were pushing Rosalie away." That was a low-blow and I knew it. I was so angry I could just…punch something.

"Are you kidding me right now? You're really bringing that shit up?"

"Yeah I am." My voice broke a little. I knew the tears were coming. "I knew this would happen. I just knew it! Tanya is way too beautiful and sexy and incredible for any guy to resist. I know. I just..I thought you were different Edward. I thought we were different." I threw the rest of her clothes out. "I think…I think you should leave."

"Where the hell am I gonna go right now?"

"I don't know. And I don't care. I just need you to go. Please." I was holding back the tears. I didn't want to cry about this now. Not with him here. "Please." I held the door open for him. He shook his head and pulled a shirt on before stomping out the door. I closed it quietly behind him and slid down the back of it, putting my face in my hands.

I looked out the window into the dark city and cried. I cried..and I cried…and I cried. I was tired of not feeling good enough. Even when, just for a second, I thought I was good enough, reality comes and bites me in the ass. And deep down I knew that Edward was probably telling the truth. Tanya jumped on anything with a dick, especially when she was drunk. But…God I was just sick of getting surprised like this.

I sat there for an hour and thirty four minutes. I know because I sat there and watched the clock the entire time.

A faint glow started coming from outside my window in the courtyard below. I peeked up to get a better look. Maybe the power was coming back on. No. No lights back on. The city was still completely dark, except for the glow from below that kept on growing brighter and brighter.

"What the hell is that?" I whispered to myself. I walked over to my window and stared down. My breath caught in my throat at the sight.

There were candles in the courtyard. Hundreds of tiny candles. I saw other people pulling back their curtains and looking at the display below. I sighed as a meek whimper escaped my lips. I didn't sigh because of the people watching, or because of the candles. I sighed because the candles were arranged in letters. M-A-R-R-Y M-E-?. I sighed because Edward was standing in the corner, looking up at my window, waiting patiently for me to react. He slowly got down on one knee and pulled out a small black box from his pocket. He didn't say another word, just looked up at me expectantly. I turned away from the window slowly and headed out the door, unsure of what to say or do next.

He was still on one knee as I entered the courtyard. I looked up to see almost every window had their curtains pulled back with curious faces looking on.

"Isabella Swan. There will never be another woman for me besides you, not now, not ever. You have bewitched me…body and soul…" He snickered as he quoted Jane Austen. "I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and making you happy. I'll make dinner, and I'll clean, and I'll even go buy your fucking girly items if you want. I'll do anything. Will you please, please marry me?"

My hand flew up to my mouth as he opened the small box to reveal a delicately simple ring. It was so beautiful and perfect.

"Edward. You. You shouldn't be asking me this right now…" I shook my head and looked down at the ground.

His jaw went taught as he closed his eyes. He slowly closed the small box and started to get up off his knee, looking completely defeated…


	35. First Day of My Life

**Edward**

I didn't understand what she was saying. I couldn't understand.

I looked down at the ground feeling embarrassed, devastated, like I didn't know what the fuck I was going to do now.

Bella's finger brushed the side of my cheek, and down my jaw before forcing my eyes to meet hers. She was smiling.

"You didn't let me finish. You shouldn't have asked me that right now…because I might just have to say yes."

"Yes?" Was I dreaming or just fucking delusional?

"Yes."

"Yes!" I jumped up and scooped her into my arms. "Yes!" We spun around wildy, as I was unable to contain my excitement. "She said yes!" I exclaimed to our audience watching from above. The crowd broke into a round of applause and shouts of "Congratulations!"

The next morning I woke up to see Bella idly playing with the ring that now occupied her left had ring finger. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"So you still want to marry me?" I turned my face towards her.

"You bet your ass I do." She grabbed my face gently and pressed her lips against mine.

She grabbed the camera that was sitting on the nightstand and pulled herself close to me. She held up her left had as she snapped the picture.

"You know most couples get professional engagement pictures taken…" I laughed.

"Well we are not most couples sweetheart…And what do you think about next week?"

"Next week?.....For what?"

"Holy matrimony."

"Next week!?" My eyes got big. I mean I wanted to marry Bella, no doubt about that, but I thought she might want a nice, big wedding with all of her family there, even my future monster-in-law. Renee will be thrilled about this new development in our relationship.

"I was thinking Vegas…" She smiled thoughtfully.

"Vegas? You mean you don't want like a big fairytale wedding?"

"You know when I was little, I used to think so. Not so much now. We are Vegas people honey, not big wishy washy prissy wedding. I want small. Intimate wedding. And Elvis."

I pulled back in amazement. This woman amazed me more everyday. I couldn't think of anything more perfect.

"I would..however, like a nice dress. We could go shopping today since you'll be leav-" She stopped. "Wait. You're supposed to be leaving tomorrow. How is this going to work?" She brought her hand to her forehead, her eyes in full panic.

"Relax Bella. You don't start school for another two weeks. And after you fell asleep last night I called my boss. He's setting me up with a job here with a buddy of his."

"Really?" She said slowly. "Really? You're not joking. You're moving…here?"

"I'm moving here."

She squealed with excitement.

"Well Bella what did you expect? A bi-coastal marriage?"

"It's not that." She got up and started jumping on the bed, her feet on either side of my legs. "Do you even know what this means?!" She continued jumping, jolting the bed with each leap.

"Apparently I don't." My forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"It means we get married couple housing!" She stopped jumping, awaiting my reaction. "Meaning a whole apartment…." I raised an eyebrow. "No communal bathroom…." She fell to her knees, collapsing ontop of me. "Our very own bedroom."

"Fuck yes!" I raised my arms up enthusiastically, before wrapping them around her, tickling her in every place I could get my hands on. "You are such a nerd."

"Well you're the idiot who's marrying a nerd." She said between laughter. We wrestled around on her bed for a few more minutes before I allowed her to pin me.

Bella's head turned towards the door as three loud knocks echoed through the room.

"Stay here future husband!" She placed her finger over my lips momentarily before leaping to her feet and skipping to the door. I couldn't see who our visitor was, but I decided it couldn't be someone we liked because Bella's shoulders visibly fell.

"What do you want Tanya?" She crossed her arms and moved in front of the crack of the door, shieiding Tanya's sight. I could barely see her strawberry blonde hair peaking out over Bella.

"I just wanted to…apologize. To you and to Edward. I was absolutely terrible to you. I was jealous and such a bitch."

Bella stepped away from the door and opened it slightly so Tanya could come in.

"Oh!" Tanya looked surprised when she saw me laying in the bed. "Hi Edward. I wasn't sure if you'd still be here." She walked into the middle of the room. "I'm really sorry. I was drunk and stupid and I know that doesn't excuse it, but I needed to tell you that I'm sorry for what I did."

Bella came over and sat on the edge of the bed, taking my hand in hers. We locked eyes with each other, exchanging words without speaking.

"Nothing like that will ever happen again I promise." She was starting to sound desperate, like she was saying anything to appease us.

"You're right Tanya it won't. Because I'm moving out."

"Bella you don't have to…"

"No it's not because of you. Edward and I will be moving in together…to the married couple's housing." Bella held up her left hand smugly. I could tell she was bragging by the grin on her face. I held in a laugh as Tanya's mouth fell open.

"Oh. Well. Congratulations I guess." Tanya's eyes drifted from her bed, to our bed, to the hallway, like she didn't know what to do or say next.

"Um. I'm just gonna go. I need to go get all of my clothes anyway." She turned abruptly and walked out the door.

Bella burst out in laughter as soon as the door closed.

"Did you see her face?"

"I know it was like she had just seen a unicorn or something." It took several minutes for our hysterical laughter to die down.

"So. Dress shopping?" Bella stood up and grabbed her towel.

"Isn't that against the rules? Me seeing you in your dress?"

"Edward we already discussed this. We are not a traditional couple. And by the sounds of it we are not having a traditional wedding. So what would make you think I would follow that silly rule?"

"Alright," I said nodding. "Dress shopping it is."

**Bella**

"What about this one?" I came out of the dressing room and turned slowly so Edward could see the dress in its entirety. The gleam of my ring kept catching my eye in the light as I spun around. It made me smile every time.

"That one is beautiful. They're all beautiful Bella I don't know how you're going to pick just one of them."

"Well I have one more to add to the mix." I jumped back into the dressing room and put on my last option.

You know that feeling that a bride is supposed to get when she puts the right dress on. Well I got that feeling as soon as I buttoned the last clasp on it. Before I could even look at myself in the mirror I knew this was it.

Edward would love this one. My hand reached for the door of the dressing room. Wait Bella. Are we really that non-traditional? What's so wrong with keeping him in a little bit of suspense? I tilted my head from left to right, debating my options.

"Edward!" I yelled from inside the dressing room.

"What? Another stuck zipper." I heard him stand up and come to the door.

"No. No it's not that. I think I changed my mind…about the dress. I don't want you to see it."

"I take it you like this last one."

"It's the one." I laughed.

"Okay. Whatever you want babe. I'll give the saleslady my credit card and go wait outside."

"No," I said smiling as I looked myself over in the mirror. "It's on me."

I paid the woman and she put the dress in a garmet bag, which thankfully wasn't see through. Edward carried it as we walked hand in hand back to the dorm. On the way we passed a Photo Center and I decided to stop in and develop our pictures from New Years and our "engagement photo." We grabbed some coffee next door as they developed.

We laughed as we flipped through the pictures an hour later standing at the counter.

The last one, our engagement picture, was priceless. We both look so happy.

"We'll take them," I said to the man at the counter.

"Great." He began to package them up. "Congratualtions by the way."

"Thanks."

"Would you be interested in making any of your photos into a postcard? It's a new service we're offering."

I paused as an idea passed through my head.

"You know what? Yes I would. The last picture please."

He smiled and turned to walk into the back room.

"It'll only take a moment. We save all the photos on the computer that makes the postcards."

He re-emereged a moment later carrying the postcard with me and Edward on the front of it.

"What's that for?" Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his chin on my shoulder, peeking to see what I was doing.

"Wedding invitation. We need a best man and a maid of honor." I wrote Jasper and Alice's information in the address section. In the message part I simply wrote "Vegas in a week."

"I'm sorry sir, we'll be needing another one of those."

The man smiled and made another postcard.

"Who's that for?"

"Charlie. You want him to walk you down the aisle don't you?"

I kissed his cheek. He was always thinking of my happiness. Of course I wanted my Dad to give me away.

We deposited our invitations in the mailbox and began our journey back to my dorm.

"So question?" I asked as he held the door open for me.

"How exactly are we getting to Vegas?"

"I have an idea for that. We'll need to leave today though."

"Today? What the hell are we doing? Walking there?"

"Don't be silly Bella. Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of it, you just pack our stuff and I'll be back in an hour."

Excited and confused, I followed his instructions and packed everything that we might need. Edward's was easy to pack. He only had a duffel bag.

He burst in the door an hour later, looking anxious as ever.

"Are you ready?"

"We're ready." I handed him his duffel.

"Alright let's go Mrs. Cullen."

"I really like how that sounds…but I'm not a Cullen yet."

"Not yet love." He kissed the tip of my nose as we stepped back out into the sunshine.

There, sitting in front of my dorm was a vintage looking convertible car, top down, ready to go.

"What is this?"

"This," he threw his bag in the back, "is how we're getting to Vegas."

I was amazed.

"We're going on a road trip?!"

"Yep. Nothing but you me and the road for the next few days."

He opened the door for me and I hopped in, very excited about our adventure that was about to begin.

It took us an hour to get out of the city. It felt so good to breathe good, clean air. It wasn't something you missed until you lived in a big city with all its pollution and smog. I took my shoes off and dangled my feet lazily out the window as Edward drove west. I took his hand in mine and leaned into his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head. We put on our matching aviator shades as the sun started to set. That moment was one of the happiest moments of my life. We had an empty road and our whole lives in front of us. And it was going to be one hell of a ride.

**A/N: So that's it. I'm happy and sad at the same time haha. First of all thank you, thank you, thank you so much for reading and all of your support. I definitely wasn't expecting all the attention the story was getting and its amazing. So thank you again. And sorry for posting the last few in such a quick succession, I wanted to get them done before I started my crazy studying for finals. Secondly, this is where I wanted the story to end, *but* if I get enough positive response from you guys about possibly doing like an outtake, or "after the credits" scene of the wedding in Vegas. The reason I didn't add it on to the story now is because I felt like this was a good, meaningful place to end. The Vegas chapter would be crazy and fun and I just didn't feel like it was the right way to actually end the story. So let me know what you think about that in your reviews and if enough people want it, I'll work on that and add another chapter of that here. Thirdly, I have the exclusive of my next story that I promised. It'd different from the one included in Brand New so you should still definitely read that one. Also the playlist is on my profile. This next one is a little bit different from the ones I've done in the past. I don't want to give too much away right now but I will say that it's all human, Bella is a cop, and there is an emergence of a Mobward. Yes a Mobward, incredibly sexy guy if you ask me. It's called "Best Served Cold" and here's a little bit to get you hooked until I can start posting chapters....which probably won't be until the end of next week at the very earliest, just because of finals. Enjoy.**

****

"Great." Jake must have adjusted the tie he was wearing, because we got our first image from the microscopic camera he was wearing. The images of the mountain of drugs flashed on the computer screen. They walked all around the shipment, Jake snapping shots at will.

"Great job, Black. We got em. Now get out of there." Carlilse and I smiled at each other. This was huge. We could finally prosecute.

"Well boss I'm glad to see everything arrived safely. If you'd excuse me I have some other business to attend to. See you tomorrow at the dinner banquet?"

"Sure Connor. Have a lovely evening."

I heard Jake exhale as he turned and began walking out.

"Oh one more thing Connor? Did you get all the pictures you needed?"

I heard the screeching of the door again. This was really bad. They knew.

Jake's breathing sped up. He knew something was wrong. "Get out of here Chief, now," he whispered into the wire.


	36. Outtake Waking Up in Vegas

**A/N: Okay so I've gotten enough of a response that I'll go ahead and put in an outtake of Vegas. This is purely for fun, not really to end the story, so don't take it too seriously. Hope you like it. The song is "Waking Up In Vegas" by Katy Perry.**

**Bella**

"It's Vegas BABY!" I hopped up and down in my seat as the strip came into view. It was an especially welcome sight after driving through hours of absolutely nothing. Then all of the sudden, there it was. Lights, flashes, crazy Vegas.

Edward grabbed his phone and put it up to his ear.

"Jazz. You guys here yet?....Great. Nice job buddy. We're just coming into town now. We'll see you in a few."

He hung up the phone and turned towards me.

"They're already at the hotel. And he says he scored us some fakes from the bar back in L.A. Apparently he was on a witch-hunt for anyone that looked like any of us. One girl called the cops on him because he took her I.D. when she was really legal."

I threw my head back in laughter. "Of course he would do that. Goof."

I was so excited to see Alice again, even though I'd technically just seen her. This was going to be one hell of a trip.

I jumped out of the car and ran in the hotel as soon as Edward put it in park.

"Room 1011 babe!" He called after me.

Taking the elevator was a bad choice, especially considering I was on the top floor. Why, one might ask, would it have been a better idea to have to walk up 10 flights of stairs? Because the elevator stopped at every single floor. And at every single floor people took forever to get off the elevator. And at every single floor someone got on, and then realized it was going up so they stopped the door from closing to get back off. I was practically kicking people off by the time we got to the top.

As soon as the elevator doors opened I was out and running. 1005…1007…1009…1011. Why were our bags sitting outside already? Why was Edward's voice coming from inside the open door?

"How the fuck did you get up here so fast?" I was pissed. I'd just spent an eternity on the stupid elevator and he somehow got here before I did.

"Sweetheart we're staying in one of the nicest suites in the hotel. There's a service elevator that we're allowed to use. It takes us right to the top."

I crossed my arms as a "humph" escaped through my lips.

"If you would have given me the chance, I could have told you that." Edward walked over and kissed my angry little forehead before stepping outside to grab our bags.

As soon as I saw Alice my mood lifted immensely. We reenacted our scene from back in my dorm, when they first came to visit.

"Okay," she said pulling away from me. "Let me see the rock."

I practically threw my left hand in her face. She took it and examined my ring finger carefully, then her face turned serious.

"Okay Edward. I approve. You now have permission to marry my best friend."

Edward laughed. "Well thank you Alice. I'm glad that you approve."

Jasper handed us our fake I.D.s.

"Hilda Bertrand?" I stared at the girl with long brown hair and large brown eyes. She looked like me, I guess.

"Hey it was that or Moonshadow Stardust." Alice and I paused and looked at Jasper, in complete disbelief that there was actually a woman named Moonshadow Stardust.

Edward, however, just laughed. "You almost took Moonshadow's I.D.? She woulda gone all hippie on your ass."

I turned towards Edward.

"So I take it you know Moonshadow?"

"She was a regular at the bar. You get to know the regulars."

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright Hilda Bertrand it is. Fuck yeah!" My arm shot up in triumph.

"Hilda Bertrand? Nice to meet you." Alice extended her hand. "My name is…" she peeked at her I.D. "Gertrude McMan. But you can call me Gertie. This is my boyfriend Humphrey Bojangles."

"That's gotta be fake," I said in disbelief. There was no way there was an actual person named Humphrey Bojangles.

"Dude you got Humphrey's?" Edward slapped Jasper a high five.

"Yeah. I had to slip Tim a twenty to get them at the door when they tried to get in."

This was unbelievable.

"And I'm Thomas Patterson." Edward showed us his fake.

"How the hell did you get a normal name like Thomas Patterson and I get stuck with Hilda Bertrand?"

"Just be thankful you aren't marrying Humphrey Bojangles."

I tilted my head in contemplation. "That's true."

"Just call me Bo for short," Jasper interjected, putting on a sly face.

"Or Hum Bo." Edward laughed.

"Okay, okay. Enough talking about our fakes, let's go use em! Bella, Edward you guys need to…" Alice looked over our outfits. "Ugh you need to change. This is unacceptable. Jasper, give Edward one of your dress up outfits, Bella come with me." Alice grabbed my hand and took me across the suite. I finally really looked around. It was amazing what that much money could get you. It was like our own little apartment, complete with wacky furniture and a huge wall of windows looking out over the strip. Alice towed me along to the second bedroom and closed the door.

"Okay I know you have your wedding dress, but you have to let me dress you for the festivities before. Please please please."

"Fine Alice. Go for it." I wasn't planning on being completely sober anyway; I wouldn't care in the long run what I looked like right now.

She pulled out an electric blue minidress, along with a white cut off vest and hot pink heels. It was definitely a Vegas outfit.

"Okay you change. Now."

Alice flew into the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom to change her clothes while I undressed.

She emerged in a barely there fire engine red dress. It was spaghetti strapped, rouched, and sure to catch Jasper's fancy, not to mention every other man's. I was thankful that mine was a little more modest.

"Well," Alice said as she pulled my hair back into a loose pony, "You're almost a married woman now. Don't want you flashing the goods to the entire universe."

We were ready to go in record time. My phone rang as we were heading out the bedroom door.

"Dad! Hey are you here yet?"

"We just landed. What time are you planning on heading to the chapel? I think I'll leave the celebrating up to you guys. I'm just an old fart."

I laughed. "We're scheduled for 9:30. So meet us there around 9."

"Okay sounds good."

"Oh and Dad. What do you mean we?"

"Sorry Bells. When I told him where I was going he threatened to physically restrain me unless I brought him along."

"Bells. How could you get married and not invite me?" Jake's voice was sarcastically angry.

"Jake. I can't believe you threatened a police officer. Pretty bad ass."

"So we'll see you at 9 then."

"Jake you're not an old fart. Come out with us."

"No no. You go ahead. The Chief and I will just chill a bit before the big event."

"Alright. Well call me if you feel like coming out."

"I will. I promise."

"See ya Jake."

I hung up the phone just as Alice and I came into the living room area again. My jaw dropped to the floor.

Edward stood, one leg on the base of a stool, leaning against the bar in the middle of the room. And damnit did my future husband look sexy.

"Damn babe you look hot," he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You look. You. You look…" I couldn't even speak. I couldn't decide if I should be undressing him with my eyes or just imagining screwing him with his clothes on. They looked that good. His hair was slicked back, not too greasy looking, just cool and suave.

I leaned in closer to his ear.

"You have no idea what I want to do to you right now…" I whispered. I dragged my teeth across his ear before pulling away.

His eyes contemplated what I'd said. He grabbed my hand and whisked us away into our master bedroom suite.

"You have five minutes. And no removal of clothing." Alice yelled after us.

"Shut up Alice!" I screamed against Edward's lips.

He pushed me up against the back of the door and ran his hands down my body.

Exactly five minutes later, Alice was pounding on the door.

I was trying to keep quiet, but, hell, I wasn't doing a good job at it. I doubt anyone would if they were with Edward right now.

"I can hear you guys! I know you're in there. I said no taking off the clothes. I was lucky enough to get her in them Edward, don't make me bitch slap you for taking them off!" She pounded on the door again.

"We have to go," I whispered into Edward's ear.

He sighed and finally released me from his grasp, taking his hands off of my hips. I unwrapped my legs from his waist as he rebuckled his pants.

I straightened my dress and opened the door to Alice tapping her foot.

"What?" I looked at her with a sarcastic look. "We followed the rules. There was no removal of clothes."

She looked at me sternly. "You could have fooled me. Now let's go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me out into the living room and towards the door. "Boys! We're leaving!"

The boys followed us quickly out the door as we headed down towards the bar and casino area. Edward ordered us all a round of shots, telling the bartender to put it on our tab. I could already tell that tonight was going to be expensive, but it was going to be worth it.

Next, Alice and I ordered some girly drinks while the boys drank gin and tonics. An hour later, we made our way into the casino, a couple notches past buzzed. I wasn't ready to try my hand at gambling with real money in big time Vegas yet. People got pissed if you didn't know what you were talking about. I sat on Edward's lap while he, Alice and Jasper played a hand of blackjack.

Edward flipped one of his cards up slightly so we could see.

"What do you think babe?" He turned his face towards mine.

I pressed my lips gently against his. "Go big or go home."

He smiled. "Hit me."

The dealer through King our way.

He flipped over the Ace we were holding. "Blackjack bitches!"

Alice frowned as she saw her "bust." Jasper stayed at 18, conceding in an effort to earn some small winnings compared to losing it all.

Edward smiled as he raked in all of our chips.

"Well I'm out of chips already." Alice shrugged her shoulders, looking completely defeated.

"Edward? Up for a game of Craps?" Jasper nodded his head towards the Craps table.

"I've got my Lady Luck with me tonight," he kissed me on my cheek and grabbed my hand. "I'm up for anything."

The tension was thick in the air. It was all down to this. One last throw.

"Okay babe. Give me some of your magic." Edward held up the dice to my face. I blew softly on the dice and kissed his wrist.

The dice flew down towards the end of the table. I held my breath as they tumbled around, knocking against the side of the table before coming to rest. A seven.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Edward and I hugged each other before raking in our chips.

"Bella! Edward! It's 8 o'clock. We need to go get dressed."

Alice tugged on my arm and the boys followed behind us. I decided I wasn't having another drink until after the wedding. I wanted to remember this.

I got changed into my dress quickly. Surprisingly Alice made a change in her wardrobe as well. It was a lot more elegant than Alice's usual funky, clubby attire. It looked amazing.

"Okay I'm going to go see if the boys are ready. You stay here."

I looked myself over as she closed the door behind her. My hands reached for a tissue, which I used to wipe all the excessive makeup off my face. I wanted to look like me, the natural me when I married Edward. I wouldn't have it any other way. When it came down to it, it was just me and him. And that's exactly how I wanted it to be.

Alice didn't give me any trouble about my undone face, except suggesting that I put some lip-gloss on, which I did because she was right. I needed a little color on my lips. My cheeks had all the natural color they needed. I was getting anxious.

"Okay I'm covering your eyes for the big reveal." She put her hands carefully over my eyes and led me out into the living room.

"Ready Jazz?"

"Ready darlin."

"Okay 1,2,3!" Her hands flew off my eyes and I blinked a few times, clearing my vision. Edward stood in front of me with a nice dress shirt and pants on, complete with a tie and his leather jacket. Absolute perfection. I smiled coyly as I took in the scene. Alice and Jasper discreetly left the room to give us a few minutes of privacy.

Edward walked towards me and pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

"I got these for you."

"Thank you," I said with awe as I took them in my hand.

"You look beyond beautiful."

"Thanks."

He bent down and kissed me on the cheek before taking my hand in his.

"You ready to go get married?" He winked in my direction.

"So ready," I smiled as we walked out the door, his thumb rubbing gently against the back of my hand.

The limo was waiting for us when we came out, complete with one order of a Dad and a side of Jacob. The ride to the chapel was lighthearted and fun. I talked to my Dad and Jake about New York, while Edward looked on. Alice and Jasper were drinking more champagne at the other end of the limo. As if they needed more alcohol. I was probably going to have to push her down the aisle.

Alice and Jasper got out of the limo first, giggling and shouting playfully.

"We really should have cut them off after the 5th shot of tequila."

Edward and Jacob laughed as they followed the drunkards out of the limo.

Edward lingered by the door, holding it open for me and my dad.

"Uh Bells," Charlie grabbed my arm as I started to get out. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Oh. Yeah sure Dad." I turned towards Edward. "We'll meet you in there. Make sure Alice doesn't puke on anything."

He smiled and closed the door.

My dad took my hands in his.

"Baby I just wanted to say that I'm really proud of you. For everything. For NYU, and for the woman you've become, and even for marrying Edward. I couldn't find a more suitable person for you honey. I trust him to take good care of you." His brow furrowed. He just wasn't good at this emotional stuff. "And well..well I…"

I threw my arms around his neck. "I love you Dad."

He laughed and hugged me back. "I love you too Bells."

I opened the door to the limo and stepped out, my Dad following close behind.

We walked into the "Little Chapel of Love" as it was called to be promptly met by a plump old woman with tanorexia and hair so blonde it would put Dolly Parton to shame.

"I take it you're the bride?" She smiled at me.

"Yes I am." I took my Dad's arm.

"They're all waiting for you through those doors. And you might need to give her a little poke or something to get her going." She nodded towards the big purple doors with a neon pink heart over them. Alice was slumped next to them, passed out.

"Alice," I whispered. She didn't move. The only way I knew that she was alive was because of her loud snore that was echoing through the entire place.

"Alice!" I smacked her across her face. Not too hard, but just hard enough.

Her eyes got big as they opened. She jumped up a little too quickly and stumbled forward into the doors, then went right into her march forward without missing a beat. She smiled brightly to the other couples waiting in the pews, if you could call them that.

I squeezed Charlie's hand slightly before we started walking forward. This place could only be described as gaudy, tacky, overdone, insert synonym here. It was absolute crazy and I loved it. The walls were a bright purple, matching the purple doors. There was extravagant white fabric draped all around and pink neon hearts everywhere you looked. Edward, Alice and Jasper stood inside a tiny white arch, along with our minister, a man by the name of Elvis Presley. He had his hand placed over his stomach as his hips gyrated to the sounds of "I Can't Help Falling in Love" that was being played by a small identically dressed midget. _A mini Elvis_, I thought. How lovely.

We finally reached the altar. My father shook Edward's hand before placing my hand in his. Alice swayed gently from side to side. Jasper looked ready at a moment's notice to catch her if she decided it was naptime.

"D-d-d-dearly beloved. We are gathered here to celebrate the love of Bella and Edward in our Little Chapel of Love. Edward. Do you take this here little lady to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Hell yes."

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh." Elvis spun his arm around and around in a pinwheel.

"And little lady. Do you take this hunka-hunka-burning love over here to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." I slid his ring onto his finger.

"Well then by the power vested in me by the great state of Nevada I now pronounce you hitched. Kiss her dude."

Edward smiled and pulled me to him for a tender but passion filled kiss. The crowd erupted in cheers. I saw a flash as Jacob took a picture.

"I love you," I nuzzled Edward's nose with mine.

"Love you too."

"Burning Love" started blaring over the speakers and we took that as our cue to leave. Our group followed behind us as another couple got ready to take the plunge.

The next thing I knew I was taking more shots at our hotel, still in my wedding dress. Apparently people here loved newlyweds because we just kept getting free drinks. So did Alice, which was not a good idea. She was already sloshed. Jasper stopped his attempts to halt her drinking and just started drinking along with her. I guess he was going for the "If you can't beat em, join em." My Dad and Jake didn't stay out with us long, they had an early flight to catch in the morning. "_Some_ people have to work," they both had said.

The rest of the night was a complete blur. I don't know what I did, where I did it, or who I did. Well I take back that last part. I knew who I did. I did Edward. Five times. I do remember that pretty clearly.

I woke up the next morning feeling like an elephant was sitting on my head.

"Here take these Mrs. Cullen, they'll make you feel better." Edward handed me some Advil.

I was draped across his bare chest, with my hair all a mess and my dress hanging oddly from the ceiling fan. I watched it as it spun around, and around, and around. Not a good idea.

I peeked at my phone. Twenty-nine missed calls from my mother. What the hell? I didn't call her did I? I looked back through my last calls. Turns out I didn't call my mother. I did however send her a text containing a picture of Edward and I with our rings. That would explain the numerous calls. "Oh my goodness. What the hell happened last night?"

"5 shots of tequila, 2 Long Islands, 2 body shots, and one holy unions."

I tilted my head up to kiss him.

"Do you think Alice is awake yet?" Edward laughed loudly as he put his hand over his eyes.

"Considering she hasn't stormed in here screaming, I'll bet she's not awake yet….We were pretty lucky last night you know? We won a lot." My eyes drifted to the huge stack of chips on our dresser.

"No doubt about that." His eyes never moved from my face. "I won the jackpot."

**Alice**

I squinted as the light poured into the room. If the jackhammer feeling in my head was any indication of how much I drank last night…it was too much. Way too much. I brought my fingers up to my temples, rubbing them in a soothing way. I felt something on my left hand.

"What the hell is this?" I brought my hand in front of my face. There was a silver mood ring on my ring finger. "Jasper?!" I looked around the room. He was nowhere to be found.

I looked back down at the ring occupying a very important finger.

My thoughts flew back to last night. Can't I just remember something? Anything? Even just a blur of something would be fabulous at this point. Nope. Nada. Nothing.

I struggled over to the dresser, and I really mean struggled. I looked like I had made Vegas proud. "Jasper?" I yelled again. Someone needed to tell me what the hell was going on. Right now.

Once I felt comfortable enough to walk I stomped across the suite and knocked on Bella and Edward's door.

"You have ten seconds to cover your private business before I come in!"

I heard them laugh hysterically on the other side of the door. I counted to ten and then walked straight in like I owned the place.

"What the hell?" I put my left hand up for display.

"What ever are you talking about Alice?" Bella stifled a laugh against Edward's chest.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. What is this?" I pointed to the ring, which was now turning a deep shade of red from its regular soothing green.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Edward sat up. "Does the word double wedding mean anything to you?"

I paused and reflected on that question and everything that it could possibly mean.

"You don't mean….No I couldn't have…Jasper and I…Oh no…." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Where is my beautiful wife?" Jasper entered the room with a box full of doughnuts. He kissed me on the cheek and sat down on the edge of the bed, offering Edward and Bella a doughnut.

"This. This. Ugh." I stomped my foot and marched out of the room.

**Jasper**

"Do you think we should tell her it was just a joke?" Bella took a bite of her doughnut.

"No. Let her squirm a little bit more. It's fairly entertaining." I offered Edward another doughnut.

I leaned back on my elbows as I put the last of my breakfast in my mouth before smacking a three way high five to my accomplices. I could hear Alice yelling from the other room.

"Should we show her the pictures or would that be too much, too soon?" Bella nodded towards the digital camera sitting on the nightstand.

"Ugh! I can't believe this!" Alice was really loud when she wanted to be.

"Too soon…" We all echoed in unison.

I laughed as Alice continued her rant.

"That's what you get for waking up in Vegas…"

**A/N: Okay so that's really it this time. I had a lot of fun writing this outtake so I hope you guys enjoyed it. It almost makes me want to get married in Vegas…as long as I get my own Edward : )**


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